All the Time in the World
by Bits And Pieces
Summary: Hogan's Heroes/Star Trek, The Original Series crossover.  The Enterprise has to go back in time to stop Hogan and his men from making a big mistake.
1. A New Mission

A/N: This is a crossover with Star Trek, The Original Series; however, since it leans more heavily towards Hogan's Heroes, I decided to post it on the main page, to make it easier for those who are interested in reading it to follow the updates. This story is not meant to be 100% scientifically or historically accurate, but I did attempt to write it in the spirit of the original television shows, and hopefully everything will make sense. If you decide to read it, I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Hogan's Heroes or Star Trek characters; I'm just borrowing them to tell a story.

* * *

**Chapter One: A New Mission**

May 23, 1944

Sergeant Carter sat outside Barracks Two, attempting to soak up the last few remaining rays of light before the sun dipped below the tops of the trees that ringed the perimeter of the camp and stretched into the forest beyond. He'd been a POW at Stalag 13 now for well over a year, and, as much as he cared about the friends he'd made here – the ones he lived with and worked with every day – sometimes he wished he was back home, watching the sunset from the porch of the house he grew up in.

Corporal Newkirk came out of the barracks just then and, lighting a cigarette, leaned back against the wall, taking a big drag and exhaling the smoke slowly into the cooling air. Without glancing at the American, he uttered, "Watchin' the sunset again, are we, Andrew?"

"Yeah," Carter answered wistfully. "It was always my favorite part of the day back home. We'd sit on the porch and relax for a while, drinking lemonade and talking about all kinds of things." He paused and let out a soft chuckle. "Once, when my uncle came to visit, he told us about the time he went to feed the cows, and when he got done, he couldn't find his watch. Well, he looked everywhere, but it was gone. So a few days later he was cleaning the barn, and guess what he found sticking out of a pile of manure?" He turned his head to look at Newkirk, who was staring at him with an incredulous look.

"Blimey, I 'ad to ask, didn't I?" Newkirk mumbled and shook his head.

"It was his watch!" Carter exclaimed, grinning wide.

Newkirk frowned. "I got it, Carter," he replied, sounding somewhat annoyed.

"See, the cow accidentally ate it, so it took a few days for it to come out the other end – "

"I said, I got it, already! 'Ave you gone deaf?"

Carter's face fell. "Oh, yeah, I guess you did," he replied dejectedly; then turned his attention back to the setting sun.

Newkirk heaved a sigh and dropped his cigarette butt on the ground; squashing it under his boot. "Look, Andrew, I…" His voice trailed off as he noticed a car driving into camp. It looked like General Burkhalter's car, and when it reached the front of the Kommandantur, it stopped.

Carter, who had been watching it, too, quickly stood up from the bench he'd been sitting on. "We'd better go tell the colonel," he said, and headed for the barracks door.

"Right behind you, mate," Newkirk replied.

The two men hurried into the barracks, glancing quickly around the large room. Corporal LeBeau was walking towards his bunk, and Newkirk called out to him, "Louis, where's Colonel Hogan?"

LeBeau jerked his thumb in the direction of the door leading to a small room on the side of the barracks. "He's in his office," he said, then his brow furrowed, "Why?"

"General Burkhalter's car just showed up," Carter answered, "We figured the colonel would want to listen in."

The false-bottom bunk banged open just then, and Sergeant Kinch climbed out. He saw the three men look in his direction, and asked, "What's up?"

"Burkhalter's here," LeBeau told him.

Kinch nodded. "Guess we better find out what he wants."

The four of them walked over to Hogan's door, and Newkirk rapped twice. When he heard Hogan's muffled reply to enter, he opened the door. "Colonel," he said as he entered the room, "Burkhalter's 'ere."

Hogan's brow furrowed. "Burkhalter? Isn't it a little late for him to be stopping by?"

"That's what we thought, sir," Carter said.

Kinch walked over and, snagging the coffee pot receiver, placed it on the desk and plugged it in. After he turned it on, the men crowded around to listen to the conversation going on in Klink's office.

* * *

Klink was sitting behind his desk, trying to sift through the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated during the course of the day, when there was a knock on the door to his office. "Come in," he called out absently, while searching in his top drawer for a pen that worked.

The door opened, and General Burkhalter walked in. Klink looked up in surprise and quickly shut the drawer, almost slamming his finger in it. He jumped to his feet and said nervously, "Ah, General Burkhalter, what a pleasant surprise! To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Burkhalter scowled. "Klink! This is not a social visit! I am here to discuss a matter of security with you."

"Security? But, General Burkhalter, I can assure you that the camp is quite secure. You know we've never had an escape from – "

"Yes, yes, I know," Burkhalter interrupted. "This is not about the camp. I need some of your guards to work at a new facility that was built near here," he leaned in slightly before continuing, "One of our scientists, Dr. Werner, is working on a top secret discovery."

"Oh? What is it?" Klink asked in a hushed voice.

Burkhalter frowned. "How would I know? I told you, it's top secret!"

"Yes, of course, Herr General," Klink muttered nervously. "I just thought that…well, you being such a high ranking General, surely they would have told you something."

"Even if they had, I wouldn't share it with you, Klink," Burkhalter snorted. "But I will tell you one thing; it's big…very big. Whatever it is, it could win the war for us."

"Really?" Klink's eyes grew wide. "How wonderful!"

"Yes, it is," Burkhalter remarked, a grin appearing on his face; then it quickly faded. "Klink, you are not to discuss this with anyone; do I make myself clear?"

"Oh, yes, sir, General Burkhalter, very clear!" Klink replied, nodding vigorously.

"Good." And with that, Burkhalter turned and left the office.

* * *

Hogan and his men listened as Burkhalter left Klink's office. Kinch unplugged the coffee pot and, as he was putting it away, uttered, "I take it we're gonna have to find out what that scientist is working on, right, Colonel?"

Hogan nodded. He glanced among his men and said, "Not only that, but we also need to find out where he's working."

"Well, maybe Schultz will get assigned there, and he can tell us where it is," LeBeau suggested.

"That would be a bit o' good luck, wouldn't it?" Newkirk added, putting a cigarette in his mouth and lighting it.

"Yes, that would be," Hogan muttered, more to himself, "And we're due for some good luck, aren't we?" He turned to his radioman. "Kinch, get on the horn to London; see if they know anything about Dr. Werner. I'll work on Klink; maybe I can talk him into sending Schultz to help guard the doctor's lab."

"Yes, sir," Kinch replied. He opened the door to leave, when he saw Sergeant Schultz entering the barracks through the outside door.

"Roll call! Raus, raus! Everybody outside!" Schultz bellowed.

Hogan and his men filed out of the colonel's office. Hogan walked up to the big German guard and said, "Hey, Schultz, it's not time for roll call."

"It's a surprise roll call," Schultz answered, turning his head toward the senior POW, "The big shot wants everybody outside right away!" Then he swept his gaze around the room and started hollering again. "Raus! Everybody, outside – right now!"

"All right, all right, we're rausin'," Newkirk replied, wincing, "Don't get your knickers in a twist, Schultzie!"

The men began to file out of the barracks, grumbling and cursing under their breath. Hogan, last man out, sidled up to Kinch and said quietly, "Looks like we'll have to wait until after roll call." Then he gestured for Kinch to exit the barracks, and followed after.

* * *

Many, many years in the future:

Captain Kirk sat in his command chair on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise, staring calmly at the screen in front of him. They had just completed a difficult mission, and were on their way to the nearest star base for a much-needed break. Everyone seemed eager to get there, even Mr. Spock; although, no one would have been able to tell, except for perhaps Kirk – he could read the Vulcan better than most.

The bridge was quiet; everyone lost in their thoughts, when suddenly there was a beep at Lieutenant Uhura's communications station. She pressed a button and listened intently, then turned to Kirk.

"There's a message for you, sir…" Her voice trailed off as she looked back at her console and frowned. "That's strange; it appears to be coming from Earth."

"Why is that strange, Lieutenant?" Kirk asked, "We get transmissions from Earth all the time."

"Yes, sir," Uhura replied, "But this one isn't coming from Starfleet Command, it appears to be coming from…the South Pole!"

Kirk glanced at Spock, who immediately looked into his monitor. "The Lieutenant is correct, Captain," he replied after a few moments, "The transmission is indeed coming from Earth, near the South Pole."

Kirk reached up and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "That _is_ strange. We have no bases there anymore; certainly no communication equipment set up…." He dropped his hand and set his eyes forward. "Put it on screen, Lieutenant."

There was a brief beeping noise as the screen changed from the star field they'd been watching, to the message. Then, as the image became clear, several gasps were heard around the bridge…it was Captain Kirk!

The Kirk on the screen smiled and said, "Greetings, Enterprise, this is Captain Kirk speaking. I have a very important mission for you; one that will mean the difference between mankind's continued existence, or the complete destruction of planet Earth."

Kirk whirled in his chair. "Mr. Spock, what is going on?"

"Analyzing transmission now," Spock absently replied as he gazed into his monitor. "It appears to be genuine," he murmured, his eyes still glued to the monitor. "Voice pattern matches, facial recognition…" He straightened up and looked at Kirk. "The image on the screen is you, Captain."

"What? How is that possible?" Kirk turned back and gazed at the screen.

"I presume by now Mr. Spock has told you that I _am_ Captain Kirk," the image spoke up; a slight grin on his face. "I'm you, Captain…but, from the near future."

Kirk was becoming annoyed by now. "All right, if you're me, then prove it!" he exclaimed at the screen.

"You already have your proof," the image stated matter-of-factly, and Kirk glanced at Spock. "Can he hear me?"

"No, I can't hear you," came the reply from the screen, "I'm just responding to what I said when I was watching this transmission for the first time."

"Fascinating," Spock murmured.

"You have no idea, Mr. Spock," the image said.

Spock's eyebrows shot up with surprise.

"Now, as to the mission I mentioned, and the reason for this message," the image continued, "Back in the 1940's on Earth, during World War II, there was a German scientist by the name of Werner, who accidentally discovered antimatter." The image paused, and his face grew serious. "I don't think I have to tell you what could happen if his discovery fell into the wrong hands."

There was silence on the bridge for a moment; everyone knew what he meant.

"In any case, the Allies found out about him," the Kirk image said, "Because there was a group of Allied prisoners working out of a POW camp in Germany, who were involved in a sabotage/espionage operation."

"He's right, sir," Sulu piped up, "I remember reading about them in our history books. I think they worked out of a camp called, Stalag 13."

Kirk opened his mouth to reply, but the image beat him to it. "You are correct, Mr. Sulu," he said, smiling slightly; then grew serious again. "The Allied prisoners informed their headquarters in London about Dr. Werner, and they were ordered to destroy both the doctor and the lab…with explosives."

"But that vould destroy the whole planet!" Chekov exclaimed.

"Exactly, Mr. Chekov," the image replied. "That's why you need to go back in time, and stop them."

"What?" Kirk exclaimed, "Go back in time, just like that?"

"We've done it before, Captain," Spock said.

"Yes, Spock, but it's risky – "

"If you don't," the image said, "You will no longer exist. Earth, as we know it, will be gone."

Another moment of silence passed across the bridge. At last Kirk spoke up. "If we do this; if we go back in time, how will we find Dr. Werner?"

The image on the screen flashed a brief smile. "You must go back to no later than May 23rd, 1944, and contact the group of Allied prisoners at Stalag 13. Their Commanding Officer's name is Colonel Hogan. They will help you find the doctor, and then you will be able to take care of both him, and the antimatter." The image grew serious once again. "Our future depends on your success. Good luck." Suddenly the image faded and the screen went dark.

Kirk glanced around at his crew; his gaze coming to rest on his first officer. "What is your opinion, Mr. Spock?" he asked him.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Since the transmission appears to be genuine, I believe we have no choice," he answered.

Kirk sighed. "I knew you were going to say that." He turned to his navigator. "Mr. Chekov, set course for Earth."

"Aye, Keptain."

"Mr. Sulu, warp factor six."

"Aye, aye, sir."

The star field was brought back up on the screen, and they headed for Earth.


	2. Gathering Information

**Chapter Two: Gathering Information  
**

"Blimey, that roll call went on forever!" Newkirk groused when they finally returned to the barracks. "I think me legs fell asleep from standin' so long."

"I think my feet fell asleep," LeBeau commented.

"I think Carter fell asleep," Kinch said, turning to look at the American sergeant. "Andrew, I could have sworn I heard you snoring there a few times."

Carter blushed slightly. "It's an old trick I learned from way back; how to sleep on your feet." He paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, not really sleep, more like taking short naps. I mean, if you actually fell asleep, you'd probably fall over…" He noticed the looks he was getting from the others, and quickly shut up.

Hogan turned to his radioman. "All right, Kinch, go contact London, see what you can find out about Werner. I'll go have a little chat with Klink."

Hogan headed out the door, while Kinch walked over to the false-bottom bunk, banged on the side to open it, and climbed down to the tunnel. LeBeau moved to the stove and began preparing dinner, and Newkirk and Carter each took a seat at the long table in the common room. Newkirk pulled a worn deck of cards from his pocket, and soon he and Carter were playing Gin.

Hogan crossed the compound quickly and sauntered into Klink's office. The German Colonel was hunched over his desk, scowling at the papers that lay spread out on top. He looked up when Hogan entered, his expression quickly changing to irritation. "Hogan, can't you see I'm busy?" he snapped; then bowed his head over his paperwork again.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kommandant, I didn't mean to interrupt," Hogan replied, but he kept standing there, staring expectantly at Klink. When the Kommandant still continued to ignore him, he raised his hand and, making a fist, coughed weakly into it.

Klink raised his head. "All right, what do you want, Hogan?" he asked with annoyance.

"I heard that General Burkhalter is planning to shut down Stalag 13…is it true, sir?"

Klink's eyes popped wide. "What? Colonel Hogan, where on Earth did you get an idea like that?"

"I overheard one of the guards talking about being reassigned."

"Oh, that," Klink replied with relief, waving his hand in a gesture of dismissal, "General Burkhalter needs some of my guards to work at a lab that just opened not far from here…" he stopped suddenly when he realized what he was saying. His face screwed up with anger and he shouted, "It's none of your business!"

"Okay, okay," Hogan responded, holding up his hands and taking a step back. "Sorry I asked!" He lowered his arms and added, "I just hope you're not planning to send Schultz there, that's all."

Klink's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Colonel Hogan, why don't you want me to send Sergeant Schultz?"

"Well, because, Kommandant, the men have grown very fond of him."

"Why would the prisoners be fond of a German guard?"

Hogan smiled and leaned in conspiratorially. "Because he treats them so well, sir. Schultz lets us keep our lights on a little longer than the other guards do, sometimes he sneaks us extra food from the mess hall – he even brings us extra blankets when it gets freezing cold outside. Why, he's become part of the family!"

"He has?" Klink looked at him; shocked.

Hogan nodded. "Yes, sir. In fact, the men want to adopt him as an honorary Allied soldier!"

Klink slapped his hand angrily on the desk. "What?" he shouted, jumping to his feet. "How long has this been going on? And why was I not aware of it?" He stomped over to the door and flung it open. One of the guards just happened to be dropping off more paperwork in the outer office, and looked up in surprise when the Kommandant opened the door. Klink spotted him and yelled, "Go find Sergeant Schultz, and tell him to come here at once!"

The guard, his eyes widening like a deer caught in the headlights, stammered something that sounded like, "Jawohl," then turned and ran out of the room.

Klink whirled around and glared at Hogan. "So, Schultz has been making your lives more comfortable, has he? Well, we'll see how comfortable he is guarding that new facility!"

"But, Colonel – "

Klink stepped aside and pointed at the door. "Dismissed, Hogan!" he shouted.

Hogan's face fell. He slinked out of the office, under the condescending glare of Colonel Klink. But inwardly he was smiling; it had worked!

When Hogan arrived back at the barracks, he noticed Kinch had already returned from the tunnel and was seated at the table next to Carter. Hogan sat down next to Newkirk, and LeBeau took a break from his meal preparation and came over to join them.

Hogan went first. "Well, I got Klink to send Schultz as one of the guards for the lab," he informed them.

Newkirk grinned. "We never doubted you, Colonel."

Hogan smiled back; then turned his attention to his radioman. "Kinch, what did you find out?"

Kinch sighed. "Well, Colonel, London said they've heard of Dr. Werner, and they're pretty worried. Apparently, not only is he extremely intelligent, he's also in tight with Hitler and the Nazi Party. He's even been seen attending several of their social engagements…" Kinch paused, as though he were hesitant to continue.

"Go on," Hogan prodded.

"Well, sir, London doesn't know what he's working on, either, but from the few reports they've managed to receive, it's something big; something that could help the Germans easily win the war."

"Blimey, that's what Burkhalter said!"

Kinch nodded. "He was right, Peter."

"What else did London say?" Hogan asked.

Kinch's face grew serious. "They want us to get rid of Werner, and his discovery."

"Get rid of?" Carter asked. "You mean, as in…" He raised his hand and drew a finger across his throat.

"That's exactly what I mean," Kinch replied.

Carter's eyes widened. "Boy, that doesn't sound like us, does it? I mean, just going out and killing someone like that –"

"What choice do we have, Carter?" LeBeau cut in, "He's a Nazi. Even if we could capture him and send him to London, he would never agree to work for the Allies."

"He's right, Andrew," Newkirk added, "Not to mention what would 'appen if he escaped, and found 'is way back to Germany. Too big a risk, mate."

Carter sighed. "Yeah, I know you fellas are right. It's just, well, it's just…"

Kinch placed his hand on Carter's shoulder. "It's war," he said quietly.

The men solemnly nodded.

Hogan kept silent for a few moments; then looked at Kinch. "Did London say how they want us to get rid of Werner's discovery?"

"The usual, Colonel. Blow it up."

Hogan nodded. "Then that's what we'll do."

* * *

As the Enterprise neared Earth, Kirk and his top officers gathered in the briefing room, and after everyone was settled, the Captain glanced at the faces in front of him and began. "All right, as you know, we have been tasked with going back in time to stop the annihilation of planet Earth. I'm sure you have all been briefed on the details."

"Aye, Captain," Mr. Scott replied, "But I don't like it. The last time we went back in time, it put quite a strain on the engines."

"What I'd like to know, Captain," Dr. McCoy spoke up, "Is, how can you be so sure that was really you in the transmission? This could be some kind of trick."

Kirk looked at Spock, nodding slightly at the Vulcan. "I have analyzed the transmission thoroughly, Doctor," Spock explained, "The message was recorded on standard equipment, with a timer affixed to it; set to go off precisely at 1400 hours yesterday. The image matches the Captain exactly, and he was able to respond to our questions, because he knew what we were going to ask."

McCoy cocked his eyebrow skeptically. "How do you know it was recorded with standard equipment, Mr. Spock?"

"Because, Doctor, I performed a detailed scan of Earth's South Pole as soon as we were in range. I located the equipment, which had been buried deep below the layers of ice; no doubt to preserve it until it was time to broadcast."

McCoy frowned. "I still say this all seems pretty fishy to me."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "What do fish have to do with it, Doctor?"

McCoy rolled his eyes. "Never mind, Spock."

Noting the escalating irritation on McCoy's face, Kirk quickly cut in. "Spock, can you tell us about the POWs in Stalag 13?"

"Yes, sir," Spock replied, and hit some buttons on his console. A moment later, a picture flashed on the wall screen of a man in his early forties; dark hair, dark eyes, wearing a U.S. Army Air Force uniform.

"This is Colonel Robert E. Hogan; he was in charge of the operation. He and his men caused a great deal of disruption to the Germans with their sabotage and espionage activities. They also rescued flyers who crashed or parachuted into the area, and returned them to London."

"Amazing, isn't it?" Sulu piped up, "And they were never discovered."

"Mr. Sulu is correct," Spock continued. "Years later, it was discovered that their efforts actually shortened the war by a few months." He hit another button on his console. "These are the men who made up his primary team."

A picture appeared of four men. The first two were American sergeants; one of them a tall, strong-looking black man, the other a shorter, rather thin blond-haired man; both of them smiling wide. The third man was wearing a British RAF Corporal uniform and had a smirk on his face, and the fourth man was a short French Corporal, who was scowling up at the Brit.

Spock went on to identify them. "This is Sergeant James Kinchloe, Sergeant Andrew Carter, Corporal Peter Newkirk, and Corporal Louis LeBeau."

"All right," Kirk said, "Then these are the men we have to contact."

"And just how are we going to do that, Captain?" McCoy asked, still skeptical.

Kirk smiled. "Trust me, Bones." He glanced at his officers once more, and moved to stand up. They did the same, and when everyone was on their feet, he said, "Scotty, get the engines ready for our trip around the sun. Mr. Spock, I want you to make the calculations for sending us back in time to May 23rd, 1944, and give them to Mr. Scott. The rest of you, prepare for a trip through time. Any questions?"

Everyone remained silent.

"Good. Let's go."


	3. Contact

A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews so far; I really appreciate it! I hope you continue to enjoy the story. :-) I'm planning to update this story every other day if I can…my goal is to have it completed by the end of the year (if not sooner.)

* * *

**Chapter Three: Contact**

When everything was ready, Kirk gave the go-ahead, and the Enterprise headed for the sun, picking up speed along the way. Fortunately, the trip was successful; the starship flew behind the sun and came around the other side, flinging itself back in time. The breaks kicked in exactly at the moment Spock had calculated, and by the time the crew woke up, they were in orbit around the Earth. After a quick check of their equipment – as well as the radio broadcasts coming from the planet – they were able to determine the date: May 23rd, 1944. They'd hit it right on the nose.

Once everything had settled down to some semblance of normal, Kirk swiveled his chair to face the science officer's station and asked, "Mr. Spock, have you been able to determine where the anti-matter is being kept? Maybe we can just go get it ourselves."

"No, sir," Spock answered. "I've performed detailed scans of the planet, and have been unable to locate it. It is possible they have it stored underground."

Kirk sighed. "Well then, it looks like we'll need Colonel Hogan's help, after all."

A short time later, Kirk headed for the briefing room, along with Mr. Spock, Mr. Sulu, Mr. Chekov, Dr. McCoy, and Mr. Scott. When they got there, they all took a seat. Kirk looked at them thoughtfully; then launched into his plan.

"All right, the first thing we need to do, is to get someone into Stalag 13 to make contact with Colonel Hogan and his men." Kirk turned to his Russian Ensign. "Mr. Chekov, How would you like to be a World War II Russian pilot, who crashes near the stalag?"

Chekov's eyes grew wide. "Me, sir?"

"Yes, you." Kirk looked at his engineer. "Scotty, can you make a replica of a WWII Russian fighter plane?"

"Aye, sir," Scott answered, "I can even make it workable."

"Good. I'll need it ready by 0600 hours, Germany time."

"Captain," Sulu spoke up, "I would like to volunteer to go instead of Chekov; I've always wanted to fly a vintage plane."

Kirk shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Sulu, but you would be a little hard to explain in Germany. If we were dealing with the war in the Pacific, then I would send you."

"Yes, sir," Sulu nodded, but his face registered disappointment.

"Keptain," Chekov looked at him nervously, "Do you vant me to actually fly the plane, and crash it near the stalag?"

Kirk grinned. "No, Mr. Chekov. I'll have Mr. Scott rig it with a remote control device. He'll crash it near the camp, and you'll beam down nearby. When the Germans find you, all you have to do is give yourself up."

Chekov swallowed hard. "Vut if they start shooting?"

"It is unlikely, Ensign," Spock answered, "The Nazis were notorious for taking prisoners alive, in order to extract as much information as possible from them, by whatever means necessary."

"But, they won't do that to you in a POW camp," Kirk said, "At least, not right away."

Chekov paled slightly. "Yes, sir," he uttered.

"Sounds pretty risky to me, Jim," McCoy cut in.

"Would you rather go, Bones?" Kirk quipped. Before McCoy could answer, Kirk said, "Don't worry, he won't be there alone for long. Mr. Spock and I will arrive at the camp later in the day, posing as Gestapo agents who are interested in talking with the new Russian prisoner." He turned back to Chekov. "In the meantime, Mr. Chekov, you will try to find out what Colonel Hogan and his men know concerning that lab."

Chekov nodded. "Yes, sir."

Kirk nodded in reply. "All right, let's get ready."

* * *

"Raus! Raus! Everybody up! Time for roll call!" Schultz bellowed as he entered the barracks. The men groaned; some of them even trying to roll over and go back to sleep. But Schultz walked by the bunks, banging on them and shouting for everyone to get up.

Hogan came out of his office, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He and his men had been up late working on a plan to get rid of the lab, and the scientist. They still needed to find out where it was, but they figured they could coax that information out of Schultz.

As the prisoners filed out of the barracks, lining up in the chilly, predawn air, Hogan couldn't help noticing how tired his men looked. He sighed inwardly, hoping this mission would end up being a 'piece of cake', as Newkirk liked to put it, and they could take a much-needed break afterwards – even if only a short one.

Schultz counted the prisoners, pointing to each one as he went along, and when he got to fifteen, he dropped his arm and let out a sigh. He stopped in front of Hogan, who looked at him curiously.

"Why the long face, Schultz?" Hogan asked, "Everybody's here."

"Oh, Colonel Hogan, the Kommandant is sending me away to work at a new facility that just opened up not far from here. He says it is because I have been too soft on the prisoners."

"You, Schultz?" LeBeau piped up from the front row, "Soft on us? _Impossible!_"

"Yeah, Schultzie, you're the toughest guard I know," Newkirk added, "Why, every time you come near, I start shakin' in me boots!"

Schultz shook his head sadly. "No, no, Colonel Klink is right; I am too nice."

"Well, gee, Schultz, we're sure gonna miss you," Carter piped up from the back row, "Aren't we, fellas?"

There were low murmurs of agreement from the line of prisoners.

"Thank you, Carter," Schultz replied quietly.

Carter's eyes suddenly widened. "Hey, if you tell us where you're going, maybe we can come visit you!"

Schultz eyed him skeptically. "How could you visit me? You're a prisoner! Besides, I can't tell anybody where it is…it's top secret."

"Oh, go on, Schultz," Hogan prodded, "We can keep a secret; can't we, fellas?"

More murmurs of acquiescence rippled through the men.

Schultz slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry, Colonel Hogan, but I couldn't tell you, even if I wanted to. _I_ don't even know where it is, yet."

LeBeau leaned forward slightly. "Well, after you start working there, maybe you can come visit us?"

Schultz shrugged. "Maybe."

The door to Klink's office opened, and the Kommandant appeared. He descended the stairs and strode briskly across the compound, coming to stand in front of Hogan. "Report!" he barked, turning his head briefly in Schultz's direction.

"All present and accounted for, Kommandant," Schultz answered, without his usual aplomb.

"Very well, Schultz," Klink replied brusquely; then he looked back at Hogan; a smirk forming on his face. "I take it Schultz told you that he will be leaving soon…?"

"Yes, sir, he did," Hogan answered.

Klink took a step closer. "You know what that means, don't you, Hogan? It means," he continued, waggling a finger in front of the American colonel's face, "No more soft living for you and your men."

"No," Hogan responded, his face showing disappointment, "And we were just getting used to being treated like human beings!"

Klink scowled. He raised his fist and shook it at him. "Hogan! I'm going to…"

Suddenly a noise ripped through the darkness, growing louder and louder by the second. It sounded like the whine of a plane engine in trouble, and it was getting closer. The noise became deafening, and – in a panic – everyone hit the dirt. Barely a second later, there was a tremendous explosion just outside the camp, and the surrounding air reverberated from the shock of the noise and pressure.

Nobody moved. The sound of the explosion continued to roar for another minute or so, then – as it died down – the men got up from the ground; slowly rising to their feet. As soon as they realized the wreck was far enough away that they weren't going to get hit with flying debris, Klink went into command mode, and started barking orders.

"Schultz! Get the prisoners back into the barracks and confine them there! Guards, release the dogs! Search the surrounding area, see if anyone survived…but stay away from the plane!"

The guards scrambled. Schultz shooed the prisoners into their barracks, and stood watch outside. Soon there were trucks headed out of camp, loaded with guards and dogs to conduct a thorough search of the area. Hogan and his men sat down at the table in the middle of the barracks, wondering if the guards were going to find anything and, if so, what.

* * *

Soon after the plane crashed, Chekov materialized far enough from the wreckage to avoid getting hit by any lingering flying debris. He was wearing a Russian Lieutenant uniform, circa 1944, and carrying a gun from the same period. He hadn't brought a communicator or phaser with him; it would have been too risky – the first thing the Germans would do once they captured him would be to search him.

Chekov stood there by a road near the woods for a short while, his nerves starting to play on him a little, when he heard the sound of a truck coming up the road. He moved off to the side, concealing himself behind some bushes, and waited. Just before it reached him, the truck stopped, and several guards hopped out. They began searching the area, swinging their flashlights along the side of the road.

Chekov held his ground, purposely waiting for one of those lights to fall on him. One finally did, and the guard immediately pointed his gun at him and began shouting in German. Chekov stood up slowly and, raising his hands over his head, shouted, "Ne strelyajtye! Ya sdayus'!" (Don't shoot! I surrender!)

The guard moved closer, yelling something else; then another ran up and quickly frisked him, confiscating his gun. Two more approached; one of them holding a pair of handcuffs. The guard that had frisked him now yanked his arms behind his back and, taking the cuffs, slapped them on his wrists. Then they pulled him roughly to the truck and shoved him in the back. The guards climbed in behind him, and the truck took off for Stalag 13.

The sun had just begun to lighten the sky when the truck rolled into camp. It stopped in front of the Kommandantur, and the guards jumped out, pulling Chekov out with them. Two guards took up positions next to him – one on each side – and led him up the steps to Klink's office. When they reached the inner door, one of them knocked loudly.

Chekov heard a muffled voice on the other side of the door, and assumed they'd been given permission to enter, because the guard opened the door and led him into the small office. He was brought to stand in front of the large desk in the room, where a Luftwaffe colonel sat behind it, staring at him dispassionately. The guards removed his handcuffs; then left.

When the guards were gone, the colonel asked him a question, and Chekov replied with the answers that Captain Kirk had told him to use – name, rank and serial number.

"Menya zovut Chekov, Pavel. Lejtenant. Lichnyj nomer; odin, dva, tri, chetyrye – "

The German colonel frowned and held up his hand, cutting him off. He asked another question, and Chekov presumed he wanted to know if he spoke German, so he answered, "Ya govoryu po-russki i po-anglijski." (I speak Russian and English.)

The Colonel's eyes lit up. "You speak English?"

"Yes, sir," Chekov replied.

"Good. I am Colonel Klink; the Kommandant of Stalag 13, and you are…?"

"My name is Chekov, Pavel. Lieutenant. Serial number; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven."

Klink eyed him skeptically. "You expect me to believe your serial number is; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven?"

Chekov shrugged.

"Well, Lieutenant Chekov, you're obviously a Russian pilot. Tell me, what was your plane doing so far from your home?"

"My name is Chekov, Pavel. Lieutenant. Serial number – "

"Yes, yes, we've been through that," Klink said, cutting him off. "I want to know…" his voice trailed off as the door to his office suddenly opened, and Hogan strolled through it.

Hogan sidled up to Chekov and said, "Kommandant, you know I'm supposed to be here when you question a prisoner."

"Colonel Hogan, this doesn't concern you," Klink replied tersely.

Hogan leaned in closer to Chekov and muttered, "Remember, you only have to give your name, rank and serial number."

Klink looked at him impatiently. "Yes, he knows, Hogan. What I want to know is what he was doing so close to Stalag 13."

"He got lost?" Hogan suggested.

Klink pointed at the door and shouted angrily, "Hogan, out!"

"But, Kommandant…"

"I said, out!" Klink watched Hogan turn to leave; then looked back at the Russian pilot. The man stared curiously back at him, and suddenly he didn't want to deal with him at the moment. "Hogan, wait," he called out.

"Yes, sir?" Hogan replied, turning back.

Klink waved a hand at Chekov and said, "Take him with you; I'll question him later. I still need to figure out what to do about his plane."

"Yes, sir," Hogan repeated. He looked at Chekov and said, "Come on, you can stay in Barracks Two for now."

Chekov glanced at Klink; then looked at Hogan. "Yes, sir," he responded, flashing him a small smile. Hogan left the office and he followed after.

So far, so good.

* * *

Russian Translations:

Не стреляйте! Don't shoot! Ne strelyajtye!

Я сдаюсь! I surrender! Ya sdayus'!

Лейтенант Lieutenant Lejtenant

Личный номер Serial number Lichnyj nomer

Меня зовут… My name is… Menya zovut…

Я говорю по-русски и по-английски. I speak Russian and English. Ya govoryu po-russki I po-anglijski.

Один, два, три, четыре, пять, шесть, семь. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Odin, dva, tri, chetyrye, pyat', shest' sem'.


	4. Friend or Foe

**Chapter Four: Friend or Foe**

Hogan arrived at Barracks Two, Chekov in tow, and when they got inside, he saw that his men were still gathered around the long table in the middle of the room. He swiveled his head to look at Chekov, while gesturing towards the table. "Have a seat," he said cordially; then added, "I bet you're hungry." He turned to the French corporal. "LeBeau, how about making some breakfast?"

"Oui, mon Colonel," LeBeau replied, getting up from the table and grabbing some pans.

Chekov walked over and plunked down on the short bench at the end of the table. He looked at the faces that were staring back at him; recognizing them from the picture Spock had put up on the screen. He glanced back at Hogan questioningly.

Hogan came over and put his foot on the bench where LeBeau had been sitting. He leaned forward, his arm on his thigh, and gestured to his men. "This is Sergeant Carter, Corporal Newkirk, Sergeant Kinch, and our chef is Corporal LeBeau," he introduced them, pointing at each man in turn.

Chekov nodded at them. "My name is Pavel Chekov. I am a Russian pilot."

"We gathered that," Kinch said, not unkindly.

"Was that your plane, what crashed out there?" Newkirk asked. "Blimey, it scared us 'alf to death!"

Chekov flushed slightly. "Yes, vell, my navigation equipment malfunctioned; throwing me vay off course, and then my engines failed, and I had no choice but to, uh, bail out."

"Too bad the Krauts caught you," Carter said, "'Cause if we'd gotten to you first, we could have – "

"Carter!" Hogan shouted, frowning at him.

Embarrassed, Carter replied sheepishly, "Sorry, sir."

"Could have vut?" Chekov asked curiously.

"Oh, nothin'," Newkirk replied, tossing a glare at Carter, "Andrew, 'ere, just likes to run 'is mouth sometimes, is all."

"So, where are you from, Lieutenant?" Kinch asked.

"I'm from Russia," Chekov answered.

"I got that," Kinch said, "But from where in Russia? It's a pretty big place."

"Novosibirsk," Chekov replied. He wasn't about to tell them where he was really from.

Kinch nodded. "Well, welcome to Barracks Two. There's an empty bunk above mine you can use. The food's not great, but since we have Louis, here," he jerked his thumb in LeBeau's direction, "We eat pretty good. Showers are once a week; no hot water, but you'll get used to it."

"How wery primitive," Chekov murmured.

Newkirk eyed him curiously. "Come again?"

"Oh, nothing," Chekov quickly replied. "Thank you for making me feel at home."

"You're welcome," Carter piped up.

"Well," Hogan said, removing his foot from the bench and straightening up, "I've got some work schedules to go over in my office." He glanced over at Kinch. "I could use your help."

"Yes, sir," Kinch replied, getting up from the table.

The two men headed for Hogan's office. Just before entering, Hogan looked back at LeBeau. "Let us know when breakfast is ready, would you?"

"Oui, Colonel," LeBeau responded.

Newkirk exchanged a look with Carter; then pulled out his deck of cards and waved them at Chekov. "Fancy a game of cards?" he asked.

Chekov shrugged; then nodded. "Nu, ladno," he replied.

Newkirk grinned. "I don't know what you said, mate, but I'll take it as a, 'yes'."

"Yes," Chekov said, smiling in return.

"All right, then," Newkirk said, and began to deal. "You know 'ow to play Gin?"

"Of course! It was inwented in Russia."

Carter nodded. "Yep, he's a Russian, all right," he remarked, and joined in the game.

* * *

Kirk was going over his plan with Spock in the briefing room, when Mr. Scott entered. He looked up and grinned at his engineer. "Scotty, good job on that plane; it crashed right where it was supposed to."

"Thank you, Captain," Scott beamed with pride. "It's got a pretty simple engine; it was no trick to get the thing to crash."

Kirk nodded. "Oh, we're going to need two Gestapo uniforms; a colonel and a sergeant."

Spock's eyebrow rose slightly. "Sergeant, sir?"

Kirk glanced at Spock and smiled. "You'll need the helmet to cover those ears of yours." He looked back at Scott. "Say, do we still have those uniforms we used on Ekos?" (1)

Scott grinned. "Yes, we do, sir. And I know just where they are!"

"Mr. Scott, what would I do without you?"

"Let's hope you won't have to find out, Captain," Scott replied.

Kirk chuckled. "Well, that takes care of one problem," he said, "Now we just need to commandeer a car when we get down there." He eyed his engineer for a moment. "Unless you can make one of those, too?"

Scott hesitated. "I can, sir, but gettin' it to the surface would take a bit o' doin'. It's too big to fit in the transporter."

"How did you get the plane down there?" Kirk asked.

"I fitted it with a heat shield, and sent it through the atmosphere."

A look of concern appeared on Kirk's face. "Scotty, if they find it – "

"You needn't worry about that, Captain; I rigged it so the explosion would take care of it."

"Good thinking," Kirk replied, relieved. He looked over at his first officer. "Well, Spock, I think it's time to get ready."

"Yes, sir," Spock said, and rose from his chair.

Kirk stood up, too, and the three men left the briefing room.

* * *

Hogan and his men, plus one Russian pilot, were seated around the table, devouring the breakfast that LeBeau had made. When they'd finished, Chekov looked at the Frenchman and said, "Spasibo. That was wery good."

LeBeau bowed slightly as he took Chekov's plate. "Thank _you_, sir," he replied, smiling at him.

Chekov looked at the men curiously. "It must get wery boring here. Do you ever think of trying to escape?"

Carter shook his head. "No," he paused; then said, "Well, yes, we think about it, but, with the Iron Colonel running the place, we don't dare try it."

"Iron Colonel?" Chekov asked, confused.

"That's what we call the Kommandant," Kinch said. "He's pretty tough. You know, there's never been an escape from Stalag 13."

Chekov's brow furrowed. "He didn't seem that tough to me."

"That's what he wants you to think," Hogan cut in, "But if you cross him…wham!" Hogan hit the edge of the table hard with his hand.

Chekov jumped slightly. Then he leaned in and said quietly, almost in a whisper, "So he doesn't know vut you are really doing here, does he?"

Surprise flashed briefly across Hogan's eyes. He stared at Chekov and replied evenly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Chekov stared back. "_I_ know vut you are doing, and I could use your help. I'm looking for a Dr. Werner – "

Hogan shot up from his seat. "In my office," he snapped, interrupting him. Hogan's men got up as well, and Chekov rose to his feet. The group headed into Hogan's office, and LeBeau, who was last, shut the door. Newkirk and Carter sat on the lower bunk, Kinch picked a spot to stand in front of the window, and LeBeau stayed by the door. Hogan motioned for Chekov to sit at his desk, while he leaned back against the end of the bunk and crossed his arms.

"All right, how do you know about Dr. Werner?" Hogan demanded.

"Colonel, I am an Ally," Chekov replied, "Ve have spies, just like you."

Hogan frowned. "That was no equipment malfunction that caused your plane to fly over this area, was it?"

"No, sir," Chekov admitted.

"Then, that plane crash wasn't an accident, either," Newkirk piped up.

"How else could I get myself captured, and brought here?"

"You could have gotten us all killed!" Hogan exclaimed, angrily.

Chekov shook his head. "Nyet. I knew exactly vut I vas doing."

Hogan glared at him for a moment. "Even if you did, why come here? Just what is it that you think we're doing?"

Chekov shrugged. "Sabotage, spying, rescuing Allied soldiers and sending them home…"

"How could you know that?" Hogan stared at him, incredulous.

"I told you, Colonel, ve have spies, too."

Newkirk's eyes popped wide. "Marya!" he exclaimed.

"Oui, Colonel," LeBeau agreed, flushing with excitement, "I'll bet she set this whole thing up!"

"Are you working with Marya?" Hogan asked Chekov.

The Russian shook his head. "Nyet. However, I am working with others; they vill be here later."

Hogan was becoming very annoyed. "Others? What others? Who are they?"

"Don't worry, you vill meet them."

"You still haven't answered my question about Dr. Werner."

Chekov sighed. "Colonel Hogan, ve vant to stop him as much as you do. His discovery is wery dangerous."

"Blimey, you know about that, too?"

"Yes, ve do, Newkirk," Chekov answered.

Hogan slowly shook his head. "I don't like this one bit. How do you expect me to trust you, when I don't even know who you're working for!"

"Well, I trust him, Colonel," Carter spoke up, "I mean, he's Russian, so he's on our side, right? And he hasn't turned us in or anything, so he's got to be telling the truth, not to mention – "

"Andrew," Newkirk cut in, glaring at him, "Just because he speaks Russian doesn't automatically mean he's not workin' for the Germans, does it? He said so, himself; everyone's got spies. He could be settin' a trap for us right now!" Newkirk paused; a frown forming on his face. "Or didn't that ever occur to you?"

Chekov smiled slightly. "Trust me; I'm not working for the Germans. If I vas, I vouldn't need your help to locate the lab."

"Then who _are_ you working for?" Hogan exclaimed.

"They vill be here this afternoon, Colonel," Chekov replied. "Until then, you vill just have to wait."

* * *

Kirk and Spock were in the transporter room, getting ready to beam down. They had changed into their Gestapo uniforms, and were in the process of concealing their communicators and phasers inside the lining of their coats, where some secret pockets had been added. Spock also found a hiding place for his tricorder. When they were all set, they stepped onto the platform, and Kirk looked at Mr. Scott, who was waiting at the transporter console.

"Once we get down there, I don't want the transporter being used for anything other than an extreme emergency," Kirk stated. "We can't risk anyone seeing it."

"Aye, Captain," Scott replied.

"All right, beam us down, Scotty," Kirk said, and a moment later, he was standing on a road lined with trees on either side. Squinting from the unaccustomed sunlight, he looked to his right; relieved to see his first officer standing next to him. "Well, Mr. Spock, I'd say the first thing we need to do is find a car."

Spock pulled out his tricorder and scanned the area. He pointed left down the road and said, "That way, Captain. There are several automobiles approximately 200 yards in that direction."

Kirk nodded. The two men started walking, unconsciously quickening their pace as they approached the area where the tricorder had pinpointed a number of cars. When they reached their destination, they saw that it was a parking lot to what looked like a restaurant. The sign on the front read, 'Hoffbrau.'

Kirk and Spock moved stealthily through the parking lot, checking the doors of the cars until they found one that was unlocked. They got in and – to their surprise – the key was sticking out of the ignition. Kirk, who was in the driver's seat, started up the car; then set the gear and tried to drive out of the lot; but the car kept jerking and stalling.

"Would you like me to drive, Captain?" Spock asked after Kirk's third attempt.

"No, no, Spock…I think I'm getting the hang of this. I've done this before, you know." (2) Kirk tried again, putting the car in first gear while pushing on the clutch; then pushed the accelerator slowly while simultaneously letting up on the clutch. The car began to move forward, and Kirk shifted again; getting the car to pick up speed. "There, I did it, see?" he remarked; a satisfied grin on his face. "Nothing to it."

Spock raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

They finally made it out on the road, and Spock, who had once again pulled out his tricorder, pointed to the right and said, "The camp is that way."

Kirk turned right, and the two men headed for Stalag 13.

* * *

(1) Star Trek episode, _Patterns of Force_, season two.

(2) Star Trek episode, _A Piece of the Action_, season two.

* * *

Russian Translations:

Ну, ладно. Well, all right. Nu, ladno.

Спасибо. Thank you. Spasibo


	5. First Impressions

A/N: Since tomorrow is a holiday for many of the readers here, (including myself), I thought I would go ahead and post this chapter today instead of tomorrow. Once again I want to thank everyone for their reviews; and for those that are celebrating tomorrow, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

* * *

**Chapter Five: First Impressions  
**

After lunch, the prisoners went outside to get a little fresh air and exercise. The volleyball net was set up, and teams were quickly formed. Newkirk and Carter joined in, while Hogan sat on a bench next to the barracks wall. He directed Chekov to sit next to him; Hogan wanted the Russian where he could keep an eye on him.

They sat there in silence for a while; then Hogan leaned in a little towards Chekov and asked, "So, when did you say these friends of yours are going to show up?"

Chekov, who was thoroughly enjoying the feel of the sun on his face after months spent being cooped up on a starship, smiled calmly and replied, "They vill be here soon."

"Uh, huh," Hogan murmured. "I'd still like to know how you found out about our little organization here."

Chekov glanced at him, but remained silent.

Just then a car drove into camp, and all eyes turned in its direction. The prisoners halted their game of volleyball to watch the car as it pulled up and stopped in front of the Kommandantur. Two men got out – wearing Gestapo uniforms – and Hogan immediately frowned. "They must be here to investigate your plane crash," he said; then looked at Chekov with annoyance. "Bringing the Gestapo here is only going to make things more difficult and dangerous for all of us – or didn't you think of that when you crashed near the camp?"

Chekov just shrugged.

Frustrated, Hogan got up and caught Newkirk and Carter's attention; then looked back at Chekov. "Come on," he said, heading for the barracks. Chekov got up to follow; Newkirk and Carter falling in right behind him.

When they got inside, Hogan glanced at Kinch and LeBeau; then made a beeline for his office. The two men knew that look, and went to join them. Hogan was already setting up the coffee pot, and Chekov eyed him curiously. "You're going to make coffee now?" he asked, somewhat bewildered.

Hogan shot him a glare. "Just sit down and listen," he replied, pointing to the chair next to his desk. The other men gathered around, and the room grew quiet as they strained to hear the conversation in Klink's office.

* * *

Kirk and Spock climbed up the stairs and entered the Kommandant's outer office. Kirk immediately noticed the pretty blond secretary sitting at a desk by the door to the inner office, and flashed her a warm smile. She looked up and smiled in return; her cheeks turning slightly pink. Kirk walked up and held out his hand. When she reached up with her own, he took her hand in his and leaned down, kissing the back of it lightly. Then he let go and straightened up. "I didn't know the Kommandant had such a beautiful secretary," he murmured, still smiling at her.

She blushed and blinked her eyes rapidly a few times.

"What is your name?" Kirk asked smoothly.

"It's uh, Hilda, Herr Colonel," she stammered.

"Hilda. That's a lovely name."

Hilda's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red.

"Hilda, we'd like to see the Kommandant. Is he in?"

"Ye…yes, Herr Colonel." Hilda got up and walked over to the door. She knocked twice and waited for a reply. Then she opened the door partway and said, "Kommandant, there are two men here to see you."

Klink, who'd gone back to working on the never-ending pile of paperwork on his desk, replied tersely, "Can't you see I'm busy? Tell them to come back later!"

"But, Kommandant, they're from the Gestapo…"

Klink's head shot up. "Oh, well, why didn't you say so? Send them in!"

"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant," Hilda replied; then turned to Kirk. "The Kommandant will see you now," she said, as business-like as possible.

"Thank you, Hilda," Kirk responded, flashing her another big smile.

Hilda blushed again, and hurried back to her desk.

Kirk and Spock entered the office, glancing coolly around the room. Klink was already on his feet, sweeping his hand through the air magnanimously while uttering nervously, "Come in, come in, gentlemen! Please, make yourselves at home."

Kirk walked over and stood in front of Klink's desk; Spock taking up a position near the door. Kirk stared at Klink, who shifted uncomfortably on his feet for a moment or two. At last the German colonel opened his mouth and said, "I am Colonel Klink, the Kommandant of Stalag 13. How can I help you, Colonel…?"

"Kirkmeyer," Kirk answered; then motioned to Spock. "And this is Sergeant Spockenheimer. I heard that you are holding a Russian pilot whose plane crashed earlier this morning. I would like to have a word with him."

"Certainly, Colonel Kirkmeyer!" Klink exclaimed. He walked over to the door and, after opening it, glanced at Hilda and hissed, "Go find Sergeant Schultz, and tell him to bring that Russian pilot to my office right away!"

"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant," Hilda replied, rising from her seat and moving to the outer door. Just before she left, she spared a glance behind her, blushing again slightly when she saw Kirk smiling at her through the open door of Klink's office, just before the Kommandant shut it.

Fortunately Schultz happened to be loitering just outside the Kommandantur. Hilda walked up to him and relayed Klink's message; then hurried back inside.

Schultz immediately began to walk over to Barracks Two, but before he got halfway across the compound, he saw Hogan exit the barracks with the Russian pilot. Since they seemed to be headed in his direction, he slowed his pace; letting the two men catch up to him. When they reached him, Schultz pointed at Chekov and said, "Colonel Hogan, the Kommandant wants to see this man in his office right away."

"Funny, that's just where we were headed, isn't it, Lieutenant?" Hogan remarked, glancing at Chekov.

"Yes, sir," Chekov answered respectfully. He was still a little in awe over what a clever place Hogan and his men had found to hide the receiver to the microphone in Klink's office.

Schultz eyed Hogan suspiciously. "Colonel Hogan, how is it you always seem to know what the Kommandant wants before I tell you?"

Hogan shrugged. "I'm psychic?" Then, before Schultz could answer, he grabbed Chekov's arm and headed for the Kommandantur.

When they got inside, Hogan glanced over at Hilda, who was sitting at her desk, concentrating on the paperwork before her. Hogan cleared his throat, ready to toss her a wink, but she didn't even look up. He found that mildly curious, but dismissed it as he reached up to knock on the door to Klink's office.

"Come in," Klink called out.

Hogan entered, followed by Chekov. He looked straight at Klink and asked, "You wanted to see the Russian Lieutenant, sir?" Before Klink could answer, Hogan glanced over and saw Kirk standing off to his right and a little behind him. His eyes widened with surprise, and he said, "Oh, I didn't know you had company."

"Colonel Hogan, this is Colonel Kirkmeyer," Klink introduced him. "He's from the Gestapo."

"Colonel," Hogan nodded curtly.

"Colonel Kirkmeyer," Klink continued, "This is our Senior POW officer, Colonel Hogan."

"Colonel," Kirk nodded back.

Hogan's eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, how 'bout that? Three Colonels in the same room, and we're all from different sides!"

Klink scowled. "Hogan, the Gestapo and the Luftwaffe are on the same side."

"You sure, sir? I mean, the way you talk about the Gestapo sometimes, I thought – "

"Hogan!" Klink shouted angrily. He turned to Kirk and smiled nervously. "Colonel Hogan is only joking; I've always spoken very highly of the Gestapo."

"I'm sure," Kirk replied. "Now, if you don't mind, Colonel Klink, I would like to begin my interrogation of this man." He pointed at Chekov, who looked properly nervous and scared.

"Of course, Colonel," Klink said, "You may use my office if you like."

Kirk frowned. "Don't you have someplace more appropriate; like, a holding cell?"

"Yes, of course," Klink nodded vigorously. He walked over to the door again and opened it. His eyes fell on Schultz, who was waiting in the outer office. "Schultz, take the Russian Lieutenant to the cooler at once!"

"Hey, wait a minute," Hogan interjected, "I'm the Senior POW; I'm supposed to be present when you question a prisoner."

Kirk shrugged. "I have no objection."

"Very well, Schultz, take Colonel Hogan with you," Klink amended his order.

As they all left the office – save Klink – Hogan once again glanced at Hilda, and noticed that she was looking at Colonel Kirkmeyer with a twinkle in her eye; the one that was usually reserved only for him. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kirkmeyer wink at her, and she blushed.

Hogan took an immediate dislike to Colonel Kirkmeyer.

Schultz led Hogan and Chekov to the cooler; the Gestapo colonel and sergeant following along behind. When they got there, Schultz opened the door to one of the cells and stood aside as first, his two prisoners, then the Gestapo men entered. Kirk nodded at Schultz, who left; shutting and locking the door behind him.

As soon as Schultz was gone, Chekov looked at Kirk and smiled wide. "I'm glad to see you made it, sir."

Hogan folded his arms and frowned. "I take it you know each other."

"Yes, sir," Chekov replied, "These are the friends I vas telling you about."

"I see," Hogan said. "I suppose next you're gonna tell me that they're not really Gestapo agents."

"Well, we're not," Kirk piped up; an innocent look on his face.

Hogan's eyes darkened. "Look, I don't know what game you're playing, but it stops right now!"

Kirk flashed Chekov a confused look; then looked at Hogan. "It's no game, Colonel. We're here to stop Dr. Werner and take care of his discovery, and we need your help to do it." He glanced briefly at his ensign again. "Didn't Mr. Chekov explain it to you?"

"Yeah, he explained it to me," Hogan retorted, "And I'll tell you what I told him; I'm not about to trust any of you until I know who you are, and who you're working for!"

Kirk let out a sigh. "All right, Colonel. I'm Captain James T. Kirk, and this is my first officer, Lieutenant Spock." He gestured to the man wearing the Gestapo sergeant uniform; then pointed to Chekov. "You've already met Ensign Chekov."

"Ensign? Are you from the Navy?" Hogan asked, confused.

"You might say that," Kirk answered cryptically. When Hogan started scowling at him again, he added, "We're from the Office of Naval Intelligence." (1)

Hogan uncrossed his arms and his eyes popped wide. "The ONI? But they only investigate things that affect the Navy. What are you doing here in the middle of Germany?"

"This is a special mission," Kirk explained, "Dr. Werner's discovery will directly affect the Navy, as well as all the other services. We need to stop him, but we can't do it without your help. Will you help us?"

Hogan stared at him for a few moments. "What do you need from me?" he asked, still suspicious.

"We need to know where his lab is."

"That's what your ensign here said, but we don't know where it is, either."

"But you have the means to find out, don't you?" Kirk asked.

"Yes," Hogan replied warily. He was still trying to decide if he could trust these men. "But if we find it, we can take care of it, ourselves."

Spock, who had remained silent since they arrived at the camp, now spoke up. "Sir, if your intention is to blow up Dr. Werner's lab, we cannot allow you to do that. It will have dire consequences for the entire planet."

Hogan's eyebrows shot up. "What? How do you know what we're planning to do?"

"Look, you're just going to have to trust us," Kirk said, ignoring Hogan's question, "We need to work together on this."

Hogan scrutinized Kirk for a moment or two. At last he said, "All right, I'll trust you – for now." Then his eyes narrowed and he leaned forward slightly. "As long as you remember that _I'm_ in charge, here."

Kirk glanced at his two men; then back to Hogan. He smiled and said, "We wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

(1) NCIS traces its roots to Navy Department General Order 292 of 1882, signed by William H. Hunt, Secretary of the Navy, which established the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). Initially, the ONI was tasked with collecting information on the characteristics and weaponry of foreign vessels, charting foreign passages, rivers, or other bodies of water, and touring overseas fortifications, industrial plants, and shipyards.

In anticipation of the United States' entry into World War I, the ONI's responsibilities expanded to include espionage, sabotage, and all manner of information on the Navy's potential adversaries; and in World War II the ONI became responsible for the investigation of sabotage, espionage and subversive activities that pose any kind of threat to the Navy.

– Wikipedia


	6. A Major Disturbance

**Chapter Six: A Major Disturbance  
**

"Guard!" Kirk yelled; then banged on the cell door. After a moment there came the noise of a key inserted into the lock, and the door swung open. Shultz stood on the other side of it, panting slightly.

"Did you call me, Herr Colonel?" Schultz asked.

"Yes, Sergeant," Kirk replied, "I have finished my interrogation. You may take Colonel Hogan back to his barracks."

"But, what about the Russian pilot?" Schultz couldn't help blurting out.

"He's coming with us," Kirk replied, "I am taking him to my headquarters for further questioning."

"Yes, sir," Schultz responded. He tossed Chekov a look of sympathy, then glanced at Hogan and said, "After you, Colonel Hogan." He stood aside to let the American officer out, and followed after.

Kirk and Spock exited behind them; Chekov in tow. When they got outside, they headed for their car. Kirk once again got in behind the wheel, Chekov took a seat in the back, and, after Spock slid into the passenger seat, Kirk drove out of camp. He went about a mile or so up the road; then pulled over to the side and stopped. The three men got out and started walking back toward camp; following the directions Hogan had given them. Before long they found the hollowed-out tree stump, and, when no guards were looking, quickly climbed down.

They followed the tunnel below until they came upon a large underground room; complete with a table to one side – covered with radio equipment – and another, larger table in the middle of the room. There were a few benches along one wall, and an opening into another room that had a curtain draped across it.

There was a man sitting at the table with the radio, and he had headphones on. He looked up when Kirk and Spock entered, and pulled the headphones down; letting them rest around his neck. He nodded at Chekov: then said, "You must be Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Spock. I'm Sergeant Kinchloe, but you can call me Kinch. The colonel will be down in a few minutes. You can have a seat if you'd like."

"Thank you, Sergeant," Kirk replied, recognizing the black man from the picture Spock had shown them on the ship. He moved over to one of the benches and took a seat; Spock and Chekov doing likewise.

It was about five minutes before the trapdoor to the barracks opened, and Hogan climbed down, along with the rest of his men. As soon as everyone was situated, the meeting began.

Hogan decided to start with introductions. "This is Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Spock," he said, gesturing to the men wearing Gestapo uniforms. "Captain Kirk, these are my men, Corporals Newkirk and LeBeau, and Sergeant Carter." He pointed to each man in turn. "And you've already met Sergeant Kinch."

The three men from the Enterprise stood up; Kirk and Spock nodding politely at Hogan's men.

Hogan leaned back against the table and crossed his arms. He stared intensely at Kirk and said, "All right, I want to know everything you know about Dr. Werner's discovery."

Kirk, Spock and Chekov exchanged glances. Kirk looked back at Hogan. "All I can tell you is that it's extremely dangerous and unstable. If it fell into the wrong hands, it would be a complete disaster."

"You mean; a disaster for the Allies?" Kinch asked.

"He means a disaster for all life on the planet," Spock answered.

The room went silent for a few moments. At last Hogan spoke up. "Then we have to find it, and destroy it," he replied, determinedly.

Kirk shook his head. "No, you only need to find it. We'll get rid of it – we know how to handle it."

"Colonel, I thought we were gonna blow up the lab, and get rid of it that way," Carter said, a confused expression on his face, "I've got plenty of dynamite – "

"If you attempt to blow it up, you will destroy the entire planet," Spock cut in.

Hogan frowned. "How do you know that?"

"Colonel," Kirk said, "There are some things you just wouldn't understand –"

"Enlighten me," Hogan interrupted irritably.

Kirk's eyes began to narrow. "I already told you, you're going to have to trust us on this."

The two men stared at each other for a few moments, and everyone could feel the tension rising. At last Carter stepped up and said, "Well, it seems to me that the first thing we have to do is find out where it is. Then we can worry about what to do with it, right?"

"Right, Carter," Hogan said, relaxing his stance slightly.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Sergeant," Kirk added, also backing off a little.

"You can call me Carter, sir," he replied, flushing slightly from the compliment.

Kirk smiled. "All right, Carter."

"Colonel, findin' out where it is shouldn't be too 'ard," Newkirk said, pulling out a cigarette and sticking it in his mouth, "Schultzie's gettin' sent there as a guard, isn't he? He can tell us where it is when he gets back." Newkirk brought his lighter up and lit the cigarette; then inhaled deeply.

"You know, those things'll kill you," Kirk remarked.

Newkirk's eyes widened. "What, this?" he asked, pulling the cigarette from his mouth and holding it up in front of him.

"Yes; they're wery bad for your health," Chekov chimed in.

"What's bad for me health is this ruddy war!" Newkirk snorted and put the cigarette back in his mouth.

Kirk frowned, shaking his head slightly. He looked back at Hogan. "So, you say Sergeant Schultz is being sent to work at the lab? When?"

"Tomorrow morning," Hogan answered. "When he comes back in the evening, I'm sure we can get him to tell us where it is," he glanced over at his Frenchman, "Right, LeBeau?"

"Right, mon Colonel," LeBeau replied, "I will make the most marvelous strudel…he will tell us anything we want to know."

"You bribe him with food?" Kirk asked, surprised.

"'Ave you seen Schultz?" Newkirk said.

"Oh," Kirk replied, nodding his head in understanding. "Well then, it looks like we'll need a place to stay until tomorrow night."

"You can stay down here," Hogan said; then glanced at Chekov. "You, too, Ensign," he added, "Since you've now been 'officially' removed from camp."

Just then the trap door opened, and Sergeant Olsen stuck his head through the opening. "Colonel, Major Hochstetter just drove into camp!" he yelled down to him.

Hogan heaved a sigh. "We better get up there." As he began shooing his men up the ladder, Kirk asked, "Major Hochstetter? Who's he?"

"The local head of the Gestapo," Hogan answered. "He's been trying to pin all the local sabotage on us for a long time."

"Yeah," Carter said as he started up the ladder, "But he hasn't caught us!"

"Yet," Newkirk added; then climbed up after Carter.

"Just stay down here and be quiet," Hogan, last one up, called out over his shoulder, "I'll let you know when he's gone." Then Hogan stepped out of view, and the trapdoor shut.

When they'd gone, Kirk, Spock and Chekov sat down on the benches they'd occupied previously. Kirk pulled out his communicator and flipped it open. "Kirk to Enterprise," he said into the small device.

"_Enterprise, Scott here,"_ the engineer answered.

"Scotty, it looks like we're not going to get the location of the lab until tomorrow night."

"_Will you be returnin' to the ship in the meantime, Captain?"_

"No…I think we'll stay here. I don't want to blow our cover with these men."

"_Understood, sir."_

"I'll call you tomorrow night; once we know where the lab is. Kirk out."

"Do we _have_ to stay down here, sir?" Chekov asked, clearly unhappy with the prospect.

"Oh, it's not so bad," Kirk replied. "You know, this is quite an operation Colonel Hogan and his men have going on here. I'm impressed."

"They did help the Allied war effort a great deal," Spock remarked.

Chekov nodded. "It's too bad we can't tell them that the Allies vill vin."

Kirk smiled. "I have a feeling they already know."

* * *

After closing the false-bottom bunk, Hogan hurried to his office. His men were already there, and Kinch had set up the coffee pot. They turned it on just in time to hear Hochstetter barging into Klink's office.

"_Klink! What is going on here?"_

"Boy, he sounds mad," Carter commented.

"_Major Hochstetter, what are you doing here?"_

"_You have a Russian plane crashed right outside your camp, and you have to ask what I'm doing here?"_

"_Major, I reported that crash right after it happened! If you haven't heard about it until now, that's not my problem."_

"You sure that's Klink? Didn't know he was that brave," Newkirk remarked with a smirk.

"_Ja, you reported the crash, but you failed to report that you found the pilot!"_

"_I did report it!"_

"_But not to me, directly; I only found out about it a half-hour ago!"_

"_Major, I don't report to the Gestapo, I report to the Luftwaffe."_

"You're right, Peter, that doesn't sound like Klink at all," Kinch said, a lopsided grin on his face.

"_Well, you should have called me, anyway. You must have known that the Gestapo would be interested in questioning him."_

"_Oh, but they already have. Colonel Kirkmeyer was here a few hours ago, and he interrogated the Russian pilot in the cooler. Apparently he thought the man needed to be questioned further, because he took the pilot with him when he left."_

Silence fell, and it began to stretch so long, that Hogan was beginning to think the receiver was broken. He and his men leaned in closer to the coffee pot, listening intently, when a loud shriek erupted from it, causing them all to jump back.

"_WHAT?"_

"I think he's really mad, now," Carter announced, unnecessarily.

"_Klink! I've never even heard of Colonel Kirkmeyer! How could you let him take a prisoner out of your camp?"_

"_Major, I never question a Gestapo Colonel."_

"_BAH!"_

The men in Hogan's office heard the stomping of feet, followed by a door slamming loudly.

"Good thing Captain Kirk got Lieutenant Chekov out of here before Hochstetter showed up," Carter said.

"You mean, Ensign Chekov," Kinch corrected.

"Oh, yeah, Ensign Chekov." Carter looked at Hogan curiously. "Colonel, do you really think they're from Naval Intelligence?"

Hogan sighed. "I don't know what to think," he muttered. "But if what they said is true, then it's imperative that we find that lab."

"So, does that mean you trust 'em, sir?" Newkirk asked.

Hogan crossed his arms and let out another sigh. "For now."


	7. A Change of Plans

**Chapter Seven: A Change of Plans**

Soon enough it was evening, and after LeBeau made dinner, he took some down to the three men in the tunnel. They ate it gratefully; Kirk remarking more than once how good it was. Spock skipped the meat portion of the meal, but it didn't go to waste; Kirk and Chekov ended up dividing it.

Kinch came down a little later to monitor the radio. He didn't say much at first, but then Spock wandered over and started asking him questions about the radio equipment – how it was built, how he had set it up, what kind of range it had – and before long Kinch was chatting away at Spock, who listened attentively.

"I think this place fascinates him, sir," Chekov whispered to Kirk, nodding in Spock's direction.

Kirk grinned. "Everything fascinates him."

Before long it was time for the nightly roll call, and Kinch climbed up to the barracks above. He joined the rest of the men getting ready to go stand outside in the dark, chilly air, and when Schultz arrived to announce it was time, he followed the others out. He took his spot behind Hogan, and prepared himself for standing there for the next hour or so.

Schultz came around to count them and, satisfied to find they were all there, stopped in front of Colonel Hogan and smiled at him.

"You're in a good mood this evening, Schultz," Hogan commented.

"Ja, I am, Colonel Hogan. It looks like I won't have to work at that new facility, after all."

"You won't?" Hogan asked curiously.

"No, I won't," Schultz replied happily. "The Kommandant said that General Burkhalter told him not to send any guards from Stalag 13 until the whole mess with the Russian plane crash is cleared up."

"He did, did he?" Hogan murmured, becoming annoyed. He would have to have a talk with Captain Kirk about this.

The prisoners stood there for what seemed forever. Klink finally showed up after an hour, just long enough to get the report from Schultz and dismiss them. The men filed back into the barracks; Hogan making a beeline for the tunnel entrance, Kinch, Carter, Newkirk and LeBeau following.

When they got below, Hogan immediately confronted Kirk.

"So, was it your bright idea to have your ensign, here, crash that plane outside of camp?" Hogan asked tersely, pointing to Chekov.

"How else could we get a man in here?" Kirk replied.

Hogan frowned. "Well, thanks to you and that plane, they're not sending Sergeant Schultz to the facility now."

Kirk's brow furrowed with confusion. "Why not?"

"Because none of the guards from Stalag 13 can be reassigned until there is a thorough investigation of the crash!" Hogan exclaimed. "I don't suppose that occurred to you when you planned that little stunt of yours." He glared angrily and Kirk and Chekov.

"And just how were we supposed to know you were bribing a guard that was going to be sent there?" Kirk countered hotly.

The two men stood there, fuming at each other once again. It was Spock who finally intervened. "Colonel, since the guard will not be working at the lab, I suggest we come up with an alternate plan."

"You got something in mind, Lieutenant?" Hogan snapped at him.

"A reconnaissance mission would be the next logical step; I understand you do them all the time," Spock answered calmly. "And you may call me Mr. Spock," he added.

Hogan sighed. "Yes, we do, Mr. Spock, but they're a lot more dangerous than bribing a guard."

"That's true," LeBeau piped up, "But, Colonel, you know Schultz; he might not have told us anyway."

"He has a point, sir," Kinch said, "Schultz _has_ been able to keep his mouth shut before." (1)

"Yes, I know," Hogan sighed in exasperation, "But I figured it was worth a shot."

"Yeah, usin' ol' Schultzie would 'ave been nice," Newkirk said, his voice filling with sarcasm, "Instead of us 'avin' to go risk our necks out there."

"Well, we'd have to go out there eventually, anyway," Carter said. "At least this way, we'll know exactly where it is."

Kirk nodded. "That's a very good point, Carter."

Carter beamed. "Thank you, Captain."

Hogan briefly scowled at Kirk. Then he glanced at the men around him and said, "All right, it looks like we'll have to send a team out. But first, it would be nice to have some idea where to start looking." He swiveled his head to look at his radioman. "Kinch, contact the Underground, see if any of their agents have heard about a new facility that was built near here, and if they have an idea where it is. Oh, and if any of them want to do some snooping around for us, we would appreciate it. Just tell them if they find anything, not to get too close; I'm sure it's pretty well-guarded."

"Yes, sir," Kinch replied, and put his headphones on.

"As for the rest of us; there's not much we can do tonight. I suggest we get a good night's sleep; I have a feeling we're gonna need it." He looked over at the three Navy men. "There are some cots just down that tunnel; you can use those tonight."

Kirk glanced in the direction Hogan was pointing, and nodded. "Thank you, Colonel," he said.

Hogan opened his mouth, about to come back with some witty retort; then thought better of it and replied instead, "You're welcome." Then he headed up to the barracks; on a mission to get some sleep, himself.

* * *

Morning came too early. The men woke up yawning and rubbing their eyes, feeling like they'd just gone to bed. Kinch came up to the barracks shortly before roll call, and slipped into Hogan's office. The colonel was just finishing getting dressed, and glanced over as his door opened. When he saw who it was, he asked, "What's the word, Kinch?"

"They still don't know where the facility is," Kinch replied, "But they're looking into it, and they're gonna send someone here later this afternoon with some possible locations."

Hogan nodded. "Okay, thanks." He finished putting on his jacket, grabbed his crush cap from the upper bunk where he'd tossed it earlier, and followed Kinch out into the main barracks.

Once again they stood at roll call for an hour, and when Klink finally showed up, he didn't seem at all happy. After receiving Schultz's report, he scowled at the line of prisoners for a moment; then yelled, "Dismissed!"

Klink was about to head back to his office, when Hogan stepped up to him and asked, "What's wrong, sir? You seem troubled this morning."

"It's none of your business!" Klink snapped; then his face filled with worry and he lowered his voice. "Colonel Hogan, what am I going to do? Major Hochstetter found out about the Russian pilot, and contacted General Burkhalter. Now _he's _angry at me for letting that pilot go!"

"Major Hochstetter?" Hogan replied, "What's he complaining about? The Gestapo have the Russian pilot."

"No, they don't, Hogan," Klink said, dropping his voice even more, "Major Hochstetter has never even heard of Colonel Kirkmeyer. No one seems to know who he is, or where he went…" He paused for a moment; looking at Hogan curiously. "You didn't happen to notice anything strange about that Colonel yesterday, did you?"

Hogan slowly shook his head. "No, not really. He was the perfect model of a Gestapo officer – insufferable and pig-headed."

Klink heard the sincerity in Hogan's voice, and knew the colonel meant it. "Well, in any case, until they find him and that Russian pilot, General Burkhalter is holding me personally responsible."

"What? That hardly seems fair, sir."

Klink nodded vigorously. "I know, I know. I just hope they're found soon."

"Me too, sir," Hogan replied with mock sympathy.

Klink's expression softened. "Thank you, Hogan. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Colonel," Hogan said. Then he gave him a smart salute and turned towards the barracks.

"Oh, Hogan," Klink called out before the American colonel had taken two steps, "If you think of anything regarding Colonel Kirkmeyer that would help in the investigation, let me know."

Hogan turned back briefly. "Yes sir, I will," he replied; then proceeded to the barracks. When he got inside, he found his men already seated at the table.

"What's the matter with our fearless Kommandant this mornin'?" Newkirk asked.

"Oh, Burkhalter is holding him responsible for the disappearance of the Russian pilot," Hogan told him.

"Hmph! They should be holdin' the Gestapo responsible; as far as they know, they're the ones, what took 'im away."

"Yes, Colonel Kirkmeyer is a very sought-after fellow right now," Hogan remarked.

"He better stay 'ere then; wouldn't want to take a chance 'im gettin' picked up by the Krauts, would we, Colonel?"

Hogan frowned. "Not my first choice, no."

"Well, sir, Kinch told us the Underground's sending an agent here," Carter piped up, "Hopefully he'll have the location of the lab."

Hogan nodded. "Hopefully," he murmured under his breath.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Hogan and his men were down in the tunnel, along with Kirk, Spock, and Chekov, waiting for the Underground agent to appear. Suddenly they all heard a noise coming from the direction of the emergency entrance, and braced themselves, just in case. A lone figure appeared, and Hogan – as well as the rest of his men – instantly recognized her.

"Tiger!" Hogan exclaimed, hurrying over to her, "I didn't know they were going to send you."

Tiger smiled. "I asked to come. I know how important this mission is."

Hogan nodded, knowing her penchant for taking on dangerous missions. "So, do you know where the lab is?" he asked.

"Not exactly," Tiger replied, a look of disappointment in her eyes. "But we have an idea where it might be. If you have a map, I can show you."

"Of course," Hogan smiled at her, "Right this way." He guided her over to the large table in the middle of the room, where Kinch was already spreading out a map of the local area. As everyone gathered around, hunching slightly over the map for a better look, Tiger scrutinized it closely for a few moments; then pointed to an area a few miles south of the camp.

"There is a large section of forest here," she explained, "Certainly not an area to draw a lot of attention. But the local farmers say they have seen an increase of activity in the area, and some of them have admitted they've been told to stay away."

"That's gotta be where it is, sir," Kinch remarked.

"Oui, Colonel, it is the perfect location."

"I think so, too, LeBeau," Hogan agreed.

Kirk, who was on the opposite side of the table from Hogan, looked up at him and asked, "Can you take us there?"

Hogan straightened up and folded his arms. "We'd better make sure it's there, first." He turned to his Frenchman and said, "LeBeau, you and Carter will go out tonight and scout this area." He pointed to the area on the map that Tiger had shown them. "See if you can confirm the lab's location."

"I'm going, too," Tiger stated resolutely.

"Tiger, I think you better stay here – "

"No, Colonel Hogan," she cut him off, "I know the surrounding area better than your men." She saw Hogan open his mouth to protest, and quickly added, "Besides, I also know a few of the farmers…the ones who would be willing to hide us, if necessary."

Hogan frowned at her. "You've already thought this through, haven't you?"

"Oui." Tiger smiled. "Don't worry; I know how to be careful."

Hogan sighed. "I know."

"Mr. Spock and I are going, too," Kirk stated matter-of-factly.

Hogan shook his head. "We can't risk it, Captain. The Krauts are looking for you – or rather, Colonel Kirkmeyer. We can't risk you getting captured."

"I can go, Captain," Spock said.

Kirk eyed him thoughtfully. "No, Mr. Spock…if the Krauts, er, I mean, the Germans are looking for me; that means they're probably looking for you, too. I don't want you getting captured, either."

"Vut about me, Keptain?" Chekov asked.

"The Krauts are looking for you, too," Hogan reminded him.

"Yes, but if he were captured," Kirk replied, "They'd initially question him about me. I'm sure we could get him back before things got rough."

Chekov swallowed hard. "Rough, sir?"

Kirk patted his shoulder. "Trust me; it wouldn't come to that."

"I don't like it," Hogan said, "It's still too big a risk."

"Colonel, I want one of my men to go on this mission. Now, if you refuse to let Mr. Chekov go, I'll go, myself, whether you like it, or not."

Hogan and Kirk stood there, glaring at each other.

"Blimey, not again!" Newkirk murmured and was about to step between them, when Tiger intervened.

"It's all right, Colonel. Mr. …?" She glanced at the Russian for help.

"Chekov," he said, smiling at her.

She looked back at Hogan. "Mr. Chekov can come with us." Then she glanced over at LeBeau and Carter, and asked sweetly, "Is that all right with you?"

"Oh, sure!" Carter exclaimed.

"Oui!" LeBeau replied.

Tiger smiled at them. Then she looked to Kirk and Hogan. "There, it's all settled!" she replied happily.

Hogan heaved a sigh. "Who's running this operation, anyway?" he mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Tiger to hear. She reached up and cupped his cheek.

"Don't worry, mon amour, everything will be all right," she whispered to him.

Hogan could only hope she was right.

* * *

(1) Hogan's Heroes episode, _At Last - Schultz Knows Something_, season five


	8. Caught

**Chapter Eight: Caught**

That night, once the last roll call of the evening was over, LeBeau, Carter, and Chekov changed into civilian clothes and, together with Tiger, slipped out of camp and began to make their way south. At Kirk's direction – and when no one was looking – Spock had given his communicator to Chekov before they left, which he had safely tucked away in the elastic of one of his socks. If, by some chance, they did get caught; he figured it was unlikely they'd search him there.

The men had thought it best to dress as local townsfolk; if they were threatened with capture, they might be able to explain their way out of it. The small group traveled carefully and silently; moving through the dense foliage with only the full moon to light their way. It took them over an hour to reach the area where they suspected the lab was, and as they finally neared, they could see lights ahead of them. They crept forward, and it was then they noticed all the activity going on – guards everywhere, patrolling a fence that surrounded a small building, trucks coming and going, stopping at the checkpoint to be searched before being allowed to move on. The security looked almost impenetrable.

They moved as close as they dared; keeping low, until they found a spot hidden by some large bushes, and crouched down. They swept their gazes over the compound, each of them becoming discouraged by what they saw.

"There are too many guards," LeBeau whispered, "We could never get past them."

"Not to mention all the lights," Carter added.

"And that checkpoint; they are searching every truck," Tiger said. "Come on; we have to go back and tell Colonel Hogan."

They got up quietly and started to move off the way they had come. They'd barely made it 30 feet, when suddenly they heard a siren go off, and men shouting in German. The voices were quite close, and before they had time to figure out which direction to go, they were bathed in light. They squinted into the darkness behind the glow of the flashlights, and realized they were surrounded. They had no choice but to surrender.

* * *

Hogan was pacing in front of the radio table down in the tunnel. It had been almost three hours, and the team he'd sent out earlier still wasn't back. His gut was telling him something was wrong, but he knew he should give them a little more time. After all, they could just be hiding from a patrol; maybe even lying low at one of the farms Tiger had mentioned, until it was safe to return to camp.

"You are expending a large amount of energy unnecessarily, sir," Spock commented as he watched Hogan pace back and forth across the floor.

Hogan glanced at him. "I think better this way," he said.

Spock merely raised an eyebrow.

Hogan, realizing he'd yet to see Spock remove his headgear, stopped his pacing and turned toward the Vulcan. "You can take that helmet off, you know. It must get pretty uncomfortable."

"He gets head colds easily," Kirk piped up, "The helmet keeps his head warm."

"I see," Hogan replied, looking at both of them skeptically. He stared for another moment; then asked, "So, what ship have you served on? Maybe I've heard of it."

"I told you, we work for the Office of Naval Intelligence," Kirk answered.

"Come now, Captain; surely you've been in command of one of our ships…?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Kirk replied, and then, with a twinkle in his eye, added, "But I'm sure I will be in the future."

"Uh, huh." Hogan eyed him a moment longer, then went back to pacing.

* * *

After being summarily frisked, Carter, LeBeau, Chekov and Tiger had been taken into the compound, and ushered into a small room that contained a desk and chair near one wall, and a large filing cabinet leaning up against the adjacent wall. The guard directed them to stand against the wall opposite the desk; then turned to the officer in charge – SS Colonel Heinrich Fischer – who was seated behind the desk, and handed him the papers they'd found when they had frisked the civilians. The tall, slightly balding man rose from his desk and stood in front of them; scrutinizing them for a few moments. At last he said, "Who are you, and what were you doing out there in the woods?"

"Please, Herr Colonel," Tiger smiled sweetly at him, "We were on our way to the train station. My brother lives in Dusseldorf, and I was taking my cousin to stay with him for a while." She pointed at Chekov. "He is deaf and dumb, and cannot travel by himself."

Fischer looked at Chekov. "Is this true?" he asked.

Chekov just stared back. Since he couldn't speak German very well, the group had already decided that – in case of capture – it would be best for him to play the part of a deaf mute.

Fischer looked down at the papers he held in his hand. He glanced through the first one and, without taking his eyes off of it, said, "You say you were headed to the train station, Fraulein Schmidt?"

"Yes, Herr Colonel. We came from the south, and decided to cut through the woods." Fischer looked up at her, and she blushed; smiling coyly. "We thought it would be a shorter distance than walking along the road."

Fischer showed no reaction to her attempts at flirting. Instead, he turned his gaze to Chekov. "And this is your deaf cousin, Johann Schmidt?"

"Yes, Herr Colonel."

"And these other two men…?"

"Just friends, Herr Colonel."

"I see," Fischer replied. He looked at Carter. "You must be Friedrich Schneider."

"Yes, sir, that's me," Carter answered politely.

"Then you must be Fritz Mueller."

LeBeau nodded. "Yes, sir."

Fischer studied them a little longer; then his eyes narrowed and he said, "You know what I think? I think you are spies. I think you were sent here to gather information about this facility."

Four pairs of eyes widened with surprise. "No, Herr Colonel, I promise you; we are not spies!" Tiger exclaimed. "We just want to get to the train station!"

Fischer walked up and stood directly in front of Tiger, towering over her menacingly. He cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head up slightly. "I know you are lying," he said quietly, fixing her with an icy stare, "But don't worry, we will find out the truth…we always do." He let go and stepped back; then turned to the guard. "Take these prisoners to our headquarters in town," he ordered.

The guard led them out of the office, where he was quickly joined by several more. The four suspected spies were loaded into the back of a truck, and whisked out of the compound. As the truck drove them to town, they remained silent, but glanced at each other nervously.

Chekov still had Spock's communicator tucked into his sock, and was planning to use it at the first opportunity. Carter and LeBeau were both becoming very worried about what was in store for them if Hogan didn't find them and rescue them in time. Their concern stretched to Chekov, but especially to Tiger – being a woman, and a beautiful one at that – LeBeau, in particular, knew what they would do to her.

The truck bumped and rocked along the uneven road for a few more minutes; then reached one of the more well-paved roads leading into town, and the ride became smoother. The truck slowed down and turned left; then took another left, stopping in front of an old, two-story brick building.

The guards hopped out, and then yelled at the prisoners to exit the truck. They complied; and were quickly escorted into the building, down a flight of stairs, and to the end of a hallway that was lined on both sides with holding cells.

One of the guards opened the door to the last cell on the right, and yelled at the prisoners to go in. As soon as they were all inside, the guard closed the door; locking it behind him.

Before anyone could say a word, LeBeau and Tiger made a quick sweep of the cell; looking for listening devices. Finding none, they nodded at Carter and Chekov that it was all clear. Then Tiger walked over and sat down on the lone cot in the room; sighing heavily.

"I think we are in big trouble," she muttered.

"I _know_ we are in big trouble!" LeBeau exclaimed.

"I'm sure the colonel will find us," Carter replied optimistically. "He always shows up in the nick of time. Hey, remember, Louis, when Newkirk got taken to Gestapo Headquarters, and we had to get him out of there – " (1)

"I wish Newkirk was here right now," LeBeau cut in; "He could pick the lock and get us out of here."

"Newkirk knows how to pick locks?" Chekov asked curiously.

"Oui," LeBeau nodded, "And open safes, and forge signatures, and pick pockets – "

"Yeah," Carter interrupted, "He's kind of a jack-of-all-trades."

"He sounds like a good man to have around; especially in your line of vork," Chekov commented.

"Oh, he is!" Carter replied enthusiastically. "Of course, he can't make bombs like I can."

"No, but he can forget to set timers, just like you!" LeBeau teased.

Carter frowned. "Hey, that's not fair!"

"Gentlemen," Tiger called out to get their attention, "Maybe we should be thinking of a way out of here."

Chekov knew she was right, and sighed inwardly. Should he pull out the communicator right now, and risk the startled reactions he'd no doubt get from Carter, LeBeau and Tiger? How could he explain it to them? Or, should he wait until he was alone? But then, it might be too late.

He went back and forth a few times, trying to decide, when LeBeau said something that made up his mind for him.

"Oui, but we also have to remember that if we don't escape in time, we mustn't talk, no matter how much they torture us."

"Vait a minute," Chekov said, "I have a vay to contact Keptain Kirk. I can at least let him know vhere ve are."

"You do?" Carter asked, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and hope.

"Yes…but you must promise you von't say anything about this to anyone."

"Not even Colonel Hogan?"

"Nyet, Carter, not even Colonel Hogan. It's top secret." Chekov glanced at LeBeau and Tiger. "You can't say anything, either."

LeBeau was curious, but he was also a bit wary. However, if the Russian was right, he knew it might be just the thing to save them. He held up his right hand and stated sincerely, "I promise, I won't say anything to anyone."

Tiger followed suit. "Oui, I won't say anything, either."

"All right," Chekov replied, and reached down to pull the communicator from his sock. Suddenly his eyes grew wide and he looked up at the others in surprise.

"It's gone!"

* * *

(1) Hogan's Heroes episode, _How To Catch A Papa Bear_, season four


	9. Communicator Troubles

A/N: I'm guessing you probably all know this; but, (just in case), a captain in the Navy is the same grade as a colonel in the Army (O-6); which means that Kirk and Hogan are the same rank. Also, I may sometimes update sooner than every other day; I'd like to try to have this story completely up before Christmas. Hope that's all right! :-)

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Communicator Troubles  
**

Two of the guards that had helped transport the civilians to SS headquarters were now back in the truck; headed for the facility to resume their posts there. The driver seemed to be aiming for every pothole on the road, and the guards quickly grew tired of being tossed around in the back.

"I'll be surprised if we make it back in one piece!" One of them remarked.

"I'll be surprised if we make it back at all!" The other exclaimed, holding tightly to the bench he was sitting on, trying not to get thrown out of the truck as it hit a particularly nasty bump.

Just then something small and metallic-looking slid out from under the bench, catching the first guard's eye, and he reached down and picked it up. "Hey, Fritz, look what I found!" he shouted, holding the small silver box out to him.

Fritz stared, wide-eyed. "What is it, Dieter?"

"I don't know," Dieter answered. He started fiddling with it, and it opened up in his hands, emitting a strange beeping sound.

"What's it doing?" Fritz asked curiously, leaning forward to get a better look.

"I don't know!" Dieter repeated loudly.

The two men stared at it, mesmerized by the tiny lights and dials on it, when suddenly they both heard a voice come through, and Dieter almost dropped it.

"_Kirk here, where are you?"_

"That voice…he's speaking English!" Fritz exclaimed.

"This must belong to the Allies," Dieter said, growing excited. "Think, Fritz, when we turn this in to Colonel Fischer, he will probably give us each a promotion!"

Just then they heard a female voice come from the silver box. "This device will self-destruct in ten seconds."

The guards stared quizzically at it. "What did she say?" asked Fritz.

A red light started blinking on the communicator, and a high-pitched whine sounded, quickly building in intensity. "Five seconds," the voice said, "Four…three…"

The guards looked at each other in alarm. "It's going to explode!" Fritz yelled, "Throw it!"

Dieter didn't have to be told twice. He chucked the communicator out the back of the truck as hard as he could. They both watched as it hit the ground and then exploded into tiny pieces. It didn't make a particularly loud noise, and since the truck kept going, the two guards had to assume the driver didn't hear it.

Fritz and Dieter stared at each other for a moment; then sat back; each of them breathing a sigh of relief. Dieter wondered for a moment what would have happened if the device had exploded right after he'd given it to Colonel Fischer, and a shudder ran through him. Good thing he'd never have to find out.

* * *

Hogan was still pacing when he heard a strange beeping sound go off somewhere in the large underground room. He stopped and looked around, muttering, "What's that noise?" He heard it again, and his gaze came to rest on Kirk. "Sounds like it's coming from you," he said to him.

"Uh, yes, um," Kirk stammered as he shot to his feet and hurried toward one of the empty tunnels. "Just a new type of locator device; nothing to worry about," he called out as he kept walking. "I'll go take care of it…be back in a few minutes."

Kirk made it to the end of the tunnel and pulled out his communicator. He flipped it open and, seeing the frequency was set to Spock's communicator, assumed it was Chekov. "Kirk here, where are you?" he said into the device.

But, instead of Chekov answering, he heard German voices on the other end, and they sounded excited. That could only mean one thing; the Germans had the communicator. He knew what he had to do. He punched in a sequence of numbers, sending a self-destruct signal to the device. (1) He heard the countdown, heard the German voices become even more animated, then – nothing. Satisfied, he closed his communicator and walked back to the main tunnel area.

"Gentlemen, I think we have a problem," Kirk said as he entered the room.

Hogan leaned against one of the support beams and crossed his arms. "Oh? And what might that be?" he asked.

"Our reconnaissance team's been captured."

Hogan instantly straightened up. "What? How do you know that? Does it have something to do with that 'locator device' you mentioned?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it does," Kirk replied. He moved over to the table where the map was still laid out, and gestured to Spock and Hogan to come over.

"This is where the signal came from," Kirk said, pointing at a spot on the map. He'd checked the coordinates of the incoming call before he destroyed the other communicator, and figured Chekov and the others might be close by.

Hogan eyed Kirk distrustfully. "I see. And I'm just supposed to take your word for it?"

"In this instance, yes," Kirk replied.

Hogan frowned. "I don't suppose you want to show me that device you have?"

"No."

"All right, that's it!" Hogan exclaimed angrily, "I refuse to believe another word unless you can prove to me that you know where they are!"

Just then the trapdoor opened, and Newkirk climbed down. Kinch had gone up a short while ago to get some rest, and the English corporal had agreed to take over for him at the radio. He heard Hogan's last words, and quickly hurried over. "'Ere, now, what's all the fuss, Colonel?" he asked Hogan.

"Captain Kirk here says our team's been captured, and he knows where they are," Hogan began to explain.

"He does?" Newkirk exclaimed with surprise; then sidled up a little closer to Kirk. "You do?"

"He's got a little gadget on him that's supposed to be some kind of locator device, but he refuses to show it to me," Hogan continued, his voice filled with frustration.

"Oh, you mean, this, Colonel?" Newkirk held his hand out to Hogan; the communicator sitting squarely in his palm.

"Hey! How did you get that?" Kirk exclaimed.

Hogan took the communicator from Newkirk and smiled. "He's our resident expert pickpocket," he commented, gesturing to the Englishman.

Newkirk grinned. "Nothin's safe from me magic fingers," he replied, raising his hands and wiggling his fingers with pride.

Kirk frowned. "Now, look; that's a top secret device – "

"Hey, we're all on the same side, aren't we?" Hogan countered. He flipped open the cover; his eyes growing wide upon seeing all the buttons and dials.

"Fantastic!" Newkirk echoed Hogan's thoughts as they both leaned in for a closer look. Suddenly a voice came out of the small box, clear as day, and Hogan jumped; nearly dropping it.

"_Enterprise, Scott here."_

"Scotty," Kirk said loud enough for his voice to carry through the communicator, "I have a small problem at the moment…" he paused, eyeing Hogan briefly; then glanced at Newkirk, "Two problems, actually. I'll have to call you back."

"_Aye, Captain. Scott out."_

"What is this; some sort of newfangled walkie-talkie?" Hogan asked.

"Uh, yes, that's exactly what it is," Kirk replied. "And remember, it's top secret; you can't tell anyone about this."

Newkirk grinned and let out a whistle. "I bet Kinch would 'ave a bloomin' field day with this; wouldn't he, sir? He'd love to take it apart, see what makes it tick…"

"I told you; you can't tell anyone," Kirk repeated sternly.

Newkirk's grin faded. "Yes, sir," he said quietly.

Hogan closed the cover and handed the communicator back to Kirk. "So, how does it work as a locating device?" he asked.

"Well, when a call comes in, the coordinates from the location of the person calling are displayed on a tiny screen inside," Kirk answered, trying not to give too much away.

"Fascinatin'!" Newkirk blurted out.

Hogan nodded thoughtfully. "I take it Ensign Chekov had one of these with him?"

"Affirmative," said Spock.

Hogan glanced at Spock curiously; then looked back at Kirk. "Was that the Ensign calling in earlier? Is that how you know they were captured?"

"Actually, no," Kirk replied hesitantly, "When I answered it, I heard a couple of Germans speaking."

"Bloody 'ell!"

"My thoughts exactly, Corporal," Kirk muttered.

Hogan's eyes widened with alarm. "So that means the Germans have one of those things now!"

"No, no…the device has a self-destruct mechanism in it. If it falls into the wrong hands, it automatically blows itself up." Kirk neglected to mention that he had actually triggered the self-destruction mechanism himself, from his own communicator.

Hogan visibly relaxed. "Well, that's a relief!" He looked down at the map, and pointed at the spot that Kirk had shown him earlier. "Is this the location that matches up to the coordinates?"

"Yes, that's it," Kirk confirmed.

"Hmm." Hogan scrutinized the location. "It appears to be on the road that runs between the area where the suspected lab is, and town," he muttered. "If they did find the lab there, and were picked up nearby, the Germans would want to interrogate them."

Newkirk nodded. "And what better place, than their 'eadquarters in town?"

Hogan looked at Newkirk. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"The SS 'eadquarters, sir…it 'as to be. If the lab's that important, I'd wager that's who's in charge of security."

Hogan sighed; his shoulders sagging slightly. "Getting them out of there is gonna be darn near impossible."

"But, Colonel, we 'ave to try!"

"We will, Newkirk. I've just got to come up with a plan…" His voice trailed off as he looked at Kirk and Spock. "How good are you two in a fight?"

Kirk and Spock glanced at each other; then back to Hogan. "We do all right," Kirk replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Hogan thought for a moment. "Can you be stealthy?"

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Sir, if you are considering asking us to join you in your attempt to retrieve the reconnaissance team, I think you will find us more than capable of carrying out whatever mission you have planned."

"Besides, Colonel," Kirk added, "One of those men is ours."

Hogan nodded. He glanced at his watch and noticed it was one o'clock in the morning. They only had five hours before morning roll call. "Okay, Newkirk, go get Kinch; I'm afraid his nap's been cancelled. Captain, let me have your uniform; I've got a Lieutenant's uniform that you can wear, instead."

Kirk frowned. "You're going as a Gestapo Colonel, and you want me to go as a Lieutenant?"

"Well, they're not looking for a Colonel Hoganmueller, are they?"

Kirk eyed him disdainfully for moment. Then he let out a sigh and began to take his jacket off. "Colonel Hogan, I do believe you're enjoying this."

Hogan smirked at him. "I told you; I'm in charge."

Kirk rolled his eyes. He finished undressing, while Hogan went and got the lieutenant's uniform for him. As Kirk put the lower ranking uniform on, Hogan changed into the Colonel's uniform. About that time Newkirk and Kinch arrived, and Hogan told Newkirk to pick out a Gestapo sergeant's uniform. Then he walked over to Kinch, who was rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Sorry, Kinch," Hogan said, placing his hand on his shoulder, "I need you to man the radio while we're gone."

"Yeah, I kind of figured, Colonel," Kinch replied tiredly.

"You think you can stay awake?" Hogan asked, becoming concerned. He knew how little sleep the sergeant had been getting lately.

"Yes, sir," Kinch said, giving his head a shake and blinking his eyes wide open a few times. "I won't fall asleep." He stared at Hogan; his expression filling with worry. "Just bring our friends back, okay?"

"Okay," Hogan replied, a look of determination on his face. He glanced at Newkirk and saw that he was ready. Then, sweeping his gaze over Kirk and Spock, he said, "Let's go."

* * *

(1) I made up the part about Kirk using his communicator to remotely trigger a self-destruct mechanism in the communicator Chekov lost. I don't recall them ever doing that on the show, but I also don't recall them ever saying they couldn't. Also, after the episode, _A Piece of the Action_, from season two, it seems to me it would have made sense for them to add that feature after Dr. McCoy accidentally left his communicator on Sigma Iotia II.


	10. No Free Rides

**Chapter Ten: No Free Rides**

"It's gone!" Chekov repeated, frantically searching his sock; then checking his shoe, just in case it had somehow fallen out and landed in there. About the time he started to panic, he noticed the others staring at him with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Ya ne sumasshedshij…I know it vas here!" he exclaimed.

"No one said you are," Tiger replied, sympathetically.

"Are what?" Carter asked.

"Crazy," Tiger translated.

LeBeau looked at her, surprised. "You speak Russian?"

Tiger smiled. "Just a few words and phrases. It has helped me out on a few occasions."

"Well, what did this thing look like?" Carter asked Chekov, getting back to the matter at hand. "Maybe it fell out somewhere in this room…" His voice trailed off as he leaned over and started looking around on the floor. After a couple of sweeps back and forth, he straightened up and announced, "Nope, nothing on the floor."

"It must have fallen out either in the voods, vhen ve vere captured, or… Bozhe Moj!" Chekov's eyes widened even more, "In the truck, vhere the Germans could find it!"

"What happens if the Germans find it?" LeBeau asked.

Chekov didn't answer for a moment; thinking it through. If the Germans did find the communicator and started to mess around with it, they would inevitably contact the Captain or Mr. Scott, who – as soon as either of them heard German voices on the other end – would send a signal to make it self-destruct. Realizing it shouldn't be a problem after all; he quietly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Nothing."

LeBeau frowned. "Nothing? You got us all worried over nothing?"

Chekov shrugged. "Sorry."

LeBeau walked over and sat down heavily next to Tiger. "So, how did that thing work, anyway?"

"Vut do you mean?"

"You said you could contact Captain Kirk with it."

"Oh, that!" Chekov replied. "Vell, it acts like a type of beacon…sort of a homing dewice."

"What's so secret about that?" LeBeau snorted, "We use things like that all the time!"

"Yes, I suppose you do," Chekov muttered, looking properly embarrassed.

"Well, it's too bad you lost it," Carter piped up. "It would have made it easier for the colonel to find us."

"Oui, and if the Germans had found it on him, they would know we are spies!" LeBeau exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Louis," Carter agreed. "Maybe it _is_ better you lost it," he said to Chekov.

Chekov inwardly shook his head. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Hogan peeked out of the hollowed-out tree stump; watching until the searchlights had passed, and then climbed out quickly and made a beeline for the safety of the trees. He waited there; watching as Kirk followed his example. After him came Spock; then Newkirk bringing up the rear. When they were all there, they took off for town; Hogan in the lead.

It was a fair distance by foot, but Kirk had reminded the colonel that his 'borrowed' car might still be parked along the side of the road, so Hogan headed in that direction. They reached the car in about fifteen minutes, and to everyone's relief; it appeared to be just as Kirk had left it. They piled in; Hogan taking the wheel this time, and headed for town – and SS headquarters.

They'd hardly gone a mile, when – of all things – the car ran out of gas. Hogan cursed and pulled over just before the engine quit. He turned his head to glare at Kirk, who was in the passenger seat. "You couldn't have stolen a car with a full tank of gas, could you?" he muttered in irritation.

"It wasn't on my list of priorities, no," Kirk quipped.

Hogan scowled. "All right, it looks like we're walking, after all," he announced to the occupants of the car. They all got out and fell in behind Hogan, who was mumbling something about how everyone should know to check the gas gauge before stealing a car.

They'd walked for another fifteen minutes or so, when they heard a car coming down the road. Hogan motioned Kirk and Spock to take up a position behind the trees that lined the road, while he and Newkirk stayed on the shoulder; hoping to flag it down and, with luck, use their Gestapo disguises to commandeer it.

The car came closer, and Hogan took a step toward the road, just about to walk in front of the car and make it stop, when Newkirk grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "It's Hochstetter's car!" he hissed into Hogan's ear.

Hogan squinted in the dark to get a better look at it; sure enough, he recognized the car as belonging to Hochstetter. "Let's get out of here!" he exclaimed as he turned around and headed for the trees, glancing over to make sure Newkirk was next to him.

They heard the car squeal to a stop behind them, and suddenly there was shouting, and three flashlights were being waved in their direction. Hogan and Newkirk hit the tree line, and nearly ran over Kirk and Spock, who had already surmised something was wrong. "It's Hochstetter!" Hogan whispered fiercely at them, "We have to get out of here!"

The four men ran; acutely aware of the Gestapo guards who were hot on their heels. After a minute or so, Hogan gestured that they should split up, in the hopes of shaking their pursuers. Hogan and Spock went one way, Newkirk and Kirk went the other. The guards split up, too; two of them following Hogan and Spock, the third guard going after the other pair.

Hogan kept running; Spock right behind him, until they thought they'd given the two guards the slip. They stopped near a clearing, which sloped beyond the trees and up a gentle hill, where they could just make out the silhouette of a farmhouse in the darkness. As they stood there, Hogan caught his breath, noting with some curiosity that Spock seemed barely winded. Hogan was about to say something, when Spock looked at him and held up his hand, cocking his head to one side. He appeared to be listening intently, although to what, Hogan couldn't guess; he, himself didn't hear a thing.

Suddenly there was a rustling in the underbrush, but before Hogan could react, the two Gestapo guards rushed out at them, rifles at the ready. "Hands up!" one of them shouted, waving his rifle menacingly at their chests. Once Hogan and Spock complied, he added, "Major Hochstetter would like to have a word with you two."

Hogan glanced at Spock; his curiosity growing over how completely calm the man seemed. In fact, he couldn't remember a time since he'd laid eyes on him, when he'd seen anything but that blank, calm expression on his face. It was almost as if the man had no emotions.

The guard who had spoken now gestured to them with his rifle to start walking back. Hogan spared another quick glance at Spock, wondering what the man would do if he went after one of the guards. Deciding to risk it, Hogan took a few tentative steps forward; then feigned tripping over something on the ground and allowed himself to start falling forward. The guard, caught by surprise, lowered his rifle and unconsciously took a step back. Hogan – who was still very much in control of his balance – lunged forward, slamming into the guard and knocking the rifle out of his hands. They both toppled to the ground; the guard landing on his back, Hogan on top of him.

Meanwhile, the other guard saw what happened, and his attention was diverted to the two men struggling on the ground. He brought his rifle up and aimed it at them, but didn't dare shoot, for fear of hitting his friend. As they rolled back and forth, each trying to get the upper hand, the guard followed their movements with his rifle, completely forgetting about the other man he was supposed to be keeping an eye on. Suddenly he felt something at the base of his neck, and the world went black. He didn't even feel Spock remove the rifle from his hands before he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Hogan, who was on top at the moment, noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, but he was too caught up in trying to subdue the guard to glance over. He threw a punch to the other man's jaw; then tried to pull away as the guard tightened his grip on Hogan's arms; attempting to roll him onto his back. Hogan yanked his arm out of the guards grasp and raised it for another punch, when both of them heard a voice say calmly, but firmly, "That's enough." They looked up to see Spock pointing a rifle directly at the guard's head.

Hogan smiled and, after wrenching himself free from the guard, stood up and quickly brushed himself off. He'd already noticed the other guard on the ground, and he inwardly nodded; his respect growing for this quiet, unassuming man that had shown up with Kirk. He looked at Spock and said, "Thanks."

"Your gratitude isn't necessary, sir," Spock replied, "I was merely doing what needed to be done to prevent us from being taken prisoner."

Hogan, taken aback, didn't know what to say for a moment. At last he muttered, "Yeah, well, thanks, anyway." He looked back at the guard on the ground and barked, "Stand up!"

The guard complied, keeping a wary eye on the rifle in Spock's hands. Hogan stepped up and searched him, confiscating a pair of handcuffs that the man had attached to his belt. "Turn around," he ordered.

The guard began to turn, when suddenly he lunged for the rifle in Spock's hands, throwing the Vulcan off balance. Spock tried to catch himself by stepping backwards, but it was no use. He fell hard on his rear; the impact jarring him enough to send his helmet tumbling off his head. He was still clutching the rifle, which was now pointing skyward.

Hogan grabbed the guard and was just about to deck him with a right cross, when they both caught a glimpse of Spock without his helmet, and froze. Spock blinked up at them; then he rose slowly to his feet, watching as Hogan and the guard kept their gaze glued to his face.

"Wha…what are you?" The guard stammered.

Spock strode up to the guard and placed his hand on the area where his shoulder joined his neck. He applied pressure, and the guard stiffened; then collapsed to the ground. Hogan watched him fall, letting go of his arm. Then he looked back up at Spock, his eyes growing impossibly wide. "What…how did you...Who are you?"

"Colonel, in the time it would take me to explain, these men may regain consciousness," Spock answered calmly. "I suggest we leave this area, and go find Captain Kirk and Corporal Newkirk. They may need our assistance."

Hogan, still in shock, merely nodded. Spock went over to retrieve his helmet, and placed it back on his head. Then he looked at Hogan expectantly. "Sir," he prompted.

Hogan blinked several times and shook his head, as though to clear it. "Oh, yes, um," he looked around, trying to get his bearings. "That way," he said, pointing in the direction Kirk and Newkirk would have gone.

Spock nodded. He still had his tricorder, but using it at the moment was out of the question, considering his proximity to the colonel. Besides, Hogan was pointing in the same direction that he had concluded was the correct one, so it seemed logical to follow him, for now.

* * *

While Hogan and Spock were tangling with the guards, Kirk and Newkirk had run into a dilemma of their own. They'd been sprinting through the woods, going in the opposite direction of the other two, when they noticed the ground seemed to disappear up ahead. They stopped dead in their tracks; then moved forward cautiously. They could hear rushing water, and as they stepped closer, found themselves at the edge of a ravine that dropped down to a fast-moving river below. It was a straight drop, about ninety feet, which meant they couldn't climb down – not that they wanted to, anyway; the water was moving too fast for them to cross. Their only choice was to parallel it, and hope they could lose whoever might be following them. Then they could circle back and meet up with Hogan and Spock.

They turned right, and were just about to start walking upstream, when they heard a noise behind them and whirled around. A Gestapo guard was standing there, staring at them angrily; his rifle aimed at Kirk. "Where do you think you are going?" he shouted.

Kirk glanced at Newkirk. The Englishman turned to the guard and yelled back in German, "Where do you _think_ we are going? We're looking for the escaped suspects!"

The guard frowned and leveled his rifle at Newkirk. "That's impossible, Sergeant…you two _are_ the escaped suspects!"

Newkirk glanced back at Kirk and shrugged.

"All right, get your hands up!" the guard ordered.

Kirk and Newkirk raised their hands.

"Now, get going!" He stepped aside and gestured to them to head back in the direction they'd come.

Kirk went first. He took a few steps forward, when suddenly they all heard a crashing noise nearby in the forest, and a deer leaped out; then instantly took off. It was just enough to momentarily distract the guard, and Kirk sprang at him, grabbing his rifle and attempting to wrestle it from him, while Newkirk circled behind the guard and grabbed his arms, trying to pull them away from the weapon.

The three of them struggled for a few moments, shifting around until Newkirk's back was inadvertently pointing towards the ravine. Then, with a renewed burst of energy, Kirk pulled with all his might; wrenching the rifle free and sending the guard and Newkirk flying. The guard fell sideways and smacked his head on a large tree root sticking up from the ground. He lay there, unconscious.

Kirk looked around, but didn't see Newkirk anywhere. "Corporal?" he called out, "Corporal Newkirk, where are you?" A stab of worry hit him, and he began to walk around the immediate area, calling Newkirk's name. As he stepped near the edge of the ravine, something on the ground caught his eye, and his heart caught in his throat – it was Newkirk's helmet. The corporal must have fallen down the ravine!

* * *

Russian Translations

Я не сумасшедший. I'm not crazy. Ya ne sumasshedshij.

Боже мой! My God! Bozhe moj!


	11. In the Nick of Time

**Chapter Eleven: In the Nick of Time  
**

"Newkirk!" Kirk yelled, leaning over the ravine and searching with his eyes in the darkness for any sign of him. He could see the rushing water below, but couldn't make out any details. "Newkirk!" he yelled again, a sinking feeling coming over him. If the corporal had landed in the river…

"'Ere!" Newkirk's voice called out to him – surprisingly close by – and Kirk breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Newkirk! Where are you?"

"I'm down 'ere!" Newkirk yelled, and Kirk looked down along the wall of the ravine. There, hanging from a large branch sticking out of the side of the ravine near the top, was Newkirk. He had apparently grabbed a hold of it when he went over.

"Newkirk, hang on!" Kirk shouted, and moved over until he was directly over the spot where the corporal was dangling from the branch. He lay down on his stomach, and reached his arm down the side of the ravine. "Here," he said, "Can you grab my hand?"

"Only if I let go," Newkirk replied, gripping the branch tighter.

Suddenly they both heard a cracking sound, and the branch dipped a few inches. Newkirk's eyes popped wide with fear, and he yelled, "Cor! The bloody branch is breakin'!"

Kirk thought furiously for a moment. He pushed himself up to his knees and quickly took off the belt around his jacket; then made a loop at one end and lay back down on his stomach. "Here, grab the end of this," he called down to Newkirk, "And slide the loop around your wrist."

The end of the belt hung just level with Newkirk's hands. The Englishman shifted his grip, and then grit his teeth and reached out with one hand; snagging the belt on the first try. He grabbed the branch again for a moment; then let go with the same hand and wriggled it through the loop.

There was another crack; much louder this time, and the branch snapped; dipping downward at a ninety degree angle. Newkirk let go; now dangling by his wrist as he watched the branch begin to slide down the side of the ravine. A clump of smaller branches were sticking out of it on one side, and as the branch passed by the Englishman, his foot somehow got snagged in them. The branch lurched; jerking Newkirk downward; then it stopped, hanging in mid-air, stuck to Newkirk's foot.

Kirk felt the corporal being tugged downward, and tightened his grip on his end of the belt. He tried to pull him up, but the added weight of the branch was too much. "Can you get that thing off your foot?" he shouted.

"I'm tryin'!" Newkirk yelled up at him while shaking his foot, attempting to dislodge it from the branches. It was no use; his foot was hopelessly stuck.

Kirk's arms were beginning to ache from the strain of supporting so much weight. He knew he was going to have to get the corporal up soon; he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold on. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he called down, "Hang on; I have an idea."

Kirk inched his hands farther down the belt; then, when he had enough of the end free, he wrapped it quickly around his left wrist. Pain shot through his arm and shoulder as he let go with his right hand – the weight of the corporal and the branch now being completely supported by that arm – while he reached into his coat and pulled out his phaser.

"Close your eyes!" Kirk yelled to Newkirk as he aimed his phaser at the branch.

"What for?" Newkirk called back, "You…you're not goin' to let go, are you?"

"No, of course not! Just close your…" He paused as a spasm ran through his left arm. "Never mind! Just don't move!" He pressed the button on the phaser and a beam of light shot out, connecting with the branch just below Newkirk's foot. Kirk moved his hand slightly, and the beam cut through the branch, slicing it neatly in two. The bottom half fell toward the river, and Kirk felt the weight on his left arm ease up a bit. The top part of the branch now started to fall, and as it did, it pulled the tangle of branches off of Newkirk's foot and kept going.

Kirk immediately set his phaser down and grabbed the belt. With both hands, he heaved upward with all his might, groaning as his left arm protested. He pulled Newkirk up to the lip of the ravine; then reached down and helped him over it, not letting go until the corporal was completely clear of the edge. He guided Newkirk over to a log, where the shaken corporal promptly sat down; then he walked over and retrieved his phaser. When he returned to where Newkirk was sitting, the Englishman was looking up at him with a mixture of awe and fear.

"What the…'ow did you… Oh, bloody 'ell, what is that thing?" Newkirk stammered, pointing nervously at the small metal box in Kirk's hand.

"I told you to close your eyes," Kirk reminded him.

"Close me eyes? Close me eyes? I'm 'angin' by a belt over a bleedin' cliff with a ruddy branch stuck to me foot, and you expect me to close me eyes?"

"Maybe that was a little unreasonable," Kirk admitted.

"Bloody right, that was unreasonable!" Newkirk exclaimed. "And you still 'aven't answered the question…what is that thing?"

Kirk heaved a sigh. "Look, if I tell you it's top secret, and that I'm not at liberty to discuss it, will you just let it go?"

Newkirk stared at him thoughtfully for a moment, trying to decide if he really wanted to know that badly. He slipped the belt off over his hand and gave it back to Kirk, glancing at the angry red ring around his wrist. Then he watched the Captain start to put the belt back on around his jacket, noticing him wince as he tried to reach behind him to grab it with his left arm. It hit him just then, what Kirk had gone through to save him, and suddenly knowing about that top secret device didn't seem all that important.

Newkirk got up and took the left side of the belt out of Kirk's hand. "'Ere, sir, let me," he said; then quickly pulled it around to the front, so Kirk could buckle it.

Kirk eyed him gratefully. "Thank you, Corporal," he replied.

"Are you all right, sir?" Newkirk asked, worriedly.

Kirk nodded. "Yes; my left arm's a little sore, that's all." He pointed to Newkirk's arm. "How's your wrist?"

"It's all right, sir," Newkirk replied; then grinned, "Just a little sore."

Kirk smiled.

Newkirk looked at him; his grin fading as his expression became serious. "Captain, I…well, I'd just like to say thank you, for savin' me life."

Kirk clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't mention it," he replied. "Besides, I think your colonel would have my head if I hadn't."

Newkirk smirked. "Well, I _would_ be 'ard to replace."

Kirk chuckled. Then he dropped his hand and said, "Come on; let's see if we can't find your colonel, and my first officer."

"Right-o, gov'nor," Newkirk replied.

They glanced around to get their bearings, and then started off in the direction that Hogan and Spock had gone.

* * *

Hogan walked through the woods, glancing every so often at Spock, wondering for the umpteenth time what he'd gotten himself into with these men from the ONI. Captain Kirk was rather mysterious, but he seemed legitimate enough. And Hogan hadn't even questioned why they had a Russian working for them. But this? He glanced at Spock again, still picturing what he looked like without his helmet on. The man hadn't even appeared to be, well, human. Oh, the ears could be a birth defect, or the result of some sort of freak accident – he was willing to believe something like that. But nothing could explain the slight greenish hue that had surrounded his face when Hogan had gotten a look at him up close.

They'd been walking for ten minutes or so, when Hogan finally mustered up the courage to ask, "So, who are you, really?"

Spock threw a glance at him. "I am Lieutenant Spock," he answered.

Hogan frowned. "That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

"Sir, who I am is not important; the only thing that matters is finding Dr. Werner's lab, and preventing him from continuing his work."

"What did he discover that's so dangerous?" Hogan asked.

"I am not at liberty to discuss it."

Hogan, becoming annoyed now, said, "Look, when it comes to operations that involve my men, I am in command; and I don't like being kept in the dark!"

"I believe the Captain said you will have to trust us."

"How am I supposed to trust you when you won't even tell me who you are!"

"Colonel, this conversation has become redundant," Spock replied calmly.

Hogan – thoroughly frustrated by now – opened his mouth, intending to tell Spock that he was just getting started, and the conversation was most certainly not redundant, when there was a slight rustling off to their right, and they stopped in their tracks. They heard it again, closer this time, and just as Hogan brought up the rifle he'd confiscated from one of the guards, two men appeared, walking towards them.

It was Kirk and Newkirk.

Hogan smiled wide. "Newkirk! Am I glad to see you!"

"Blimey, I'm glad to see you, too, sir!" Newkirk exclaimed, returning his smile. "You wouldn't believe what 'appened to us – "

"Colonel," Kirk interjected, "I'm glad we found you. I was beginning to wonder if we were going in the right direction." He looked over at his first officer and smiled. "Mr. Spock! I'm glad to see you're still in one piece."

Spock nodded slightly. "Captain, I am relieved to see you are equally unhurt," he replied.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, exactly," Newkirk said.

Spock's eyebrow went up. "Are you injured, Captain?"

Kirk glanced at Newkirk and frowned; then turned back to Spock. "Just my left arm…it's a little sore."

"That's because he was holdin' onto me, to keep me from fallin' down a cliff!" Newkirk exclaimed.

Hogan's eyes widened in alarm. "What? You almost fell off a cliff?"

"Well, you see, sir…" Newkirk went on to explain what happened, but when he got to the part about the strange device Kirk used to cut the branch, he left that out, telling Hogan instead that the branch fell away on its own.

"So then, the gov'nor, 'ere, pulled me up to safety. Saved me life, he did!" Newkirk glanced at Kirk and smiled. "He wrenched 'is arm doin' it; that's why it's sore."

Hogan found himself inwardly bristling at Newkirk's use of the word, 'gov'nor' when addressing Kirk – that was a name the corporal had reserved only for him. He couldn't shake the feeling that Kirk was trying to weasel in on his operation – and apparently take over his men, as well.

But, was that really fair? Kirk did save Newkirk's life; after all. Hogan couldn't really blame Newkirk for being grateful to him; heck, he was grateful, too.

Then why did Kirk still annoy him so much?

"That's a fascinating story, Newkirk, but I think it's time we get back to the mission, don't you?" Hogan stated brusquely; then cursed himself for sounding so callous.

Newkirk's smile faded. "Yes, sir."

Hogan sighed and placed his hand on Newkirk's shoulder. "I'm glad you're all right," he told him sincerely.

Newkirk nodded. "Thanks, gov'nor," he replied softly.

Hogan dropped his hand and looked at Kirk and Spock. "Okay, let's go get our team out of SS headquarters." Then he took off through the woods in the direction of town; the three men falling in behind him.


	12. Superman

**Chapter Twelve: Superman**

Hogan, Kirk, Spock and Newkirk kept to the woods as they made their way towards town. They decided to stay away from the road for the remainder of the distance; they didn't want to take a chance of running into Hochstetter again. As they walked, they kept their ears open; listening for any sounds of pursuit. None of them knew when the three guards that had tried to capture them earlier would wake up, and attempt to pick up their trail.

As they neared the town, the four men slowed their pace. They circled around the outskirts until they were on the side of town where the SS headquarters was located. Just before they left the relative safety of the trees, they huddled together to come up with a plan.

"All right," Hogan said, "We'll go in there and tell whoever's on duty at the desk that we've been assigned to question the prisoners, and to release them to our custody."

Newkirk shook his head. "Won't work, Colonel; we don't 'ave any transfer papers."

Hogan sighed in frustration. "Damn! I knew there was something I forgot!"

Kirk and Spock glanced at each other. Then Kirk turned back to Hogan and said, "I've got an idea."

"I figured you would," Hogan mumbled under his breath.

"Spock and I can go in and subdue the guards; then we'll free the team and meet you back out here."

"You and Spock, go in there all by yourselves?" Hogan frowned. "Do you know how many guards they have in there?"

Kirk shrugged. "Five?"

"Five? Try twenty," Hogan informed them, "Wouldn't you say, Newkirk?"

"Oh, at least!" Newkirk answered.

Kirk glanced at Spock again. "We can handle it," he said confidently.

"No," Hogan replied firmly, "There is no way the two of you would be able to take down twenty guards. We all go in, and that's an order!"

Newkirk grabbed Hogan's arm lightly and asked, "Colonel, can I speak to you a moment?"

Hogan glanced at his corporal. "All right, Newkirk, but make it quick."

"If you'll excuse us," Newkirk said, pulling Hogan off to the side. He lowered his voice to almost a whisper and said, "Sir, I think they can do it. They've got some tricks up their sleeves, those two – things _I've_ never ruddy seen before. If anyone can get our team out of there, it's them."

"Newkirk," Hogan replied, somewhat tersely, "I know you've become fond of Captain Kirk, but he's not Superman. There's no way he and Mr. Spock can take out twenty guards by themselves."

An image of the device that Kirk had used to cut the branch off his foot flashed through Newkirk's mind, and he said quietly, "You might be surprised, sir."

Hogan's eyes flashed with suspicion. "Newkirk, what aren't you telling me?"

"Nothin', Colonel!" Newkirk exclaimed. "I'm just sayin', maybe you should give the captain and Mr. Spock a chance, that's all."

Hogan sighed in annoyance. He walked back to Kirk and Spock and said, "Well, it looks like you've won over my corporal; even he thinks I should let you go." He sighed again; this time in resignation. "All right, if you two want to go in there and get yourselves killed, who am I to stop you?"

Kirk smiled and clapped Hogan on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Colonel, we'll get them out safe and sound."

Hogan just shook his head.

The four men stepped out from the trees and walked quickly through the streets; keeping close to the buildings. They didn't see anyone around, but since it was way past curfew, they hadn't expected to. Still, there were always military patrols to watch out for, not to mention the SS or the Gestapo could show up at any minute.

Luckily, none of them did, and before long they found themselves outside SS headquarters. Kirk suggested that Hogan and Newkirk find a spot next to the building where they could wait without being seen. Hogan grumbled, but he grabbed Newkirk's arm and pulled him over to a spot in the shadows near the door. Then Kirk and Spock walked up the steps to the building, and went inside.

Once inside the door, Kirk slid his hand unobtrusively under his coat, and removed his phaser, noticing that Spock had done the same. He leaned closer to the Vulcan and said quietly, "On stun." Then he and Spock walked toward the front desk.

The sergeant who was seated behind the desk looked up and asked tiredly, "Can I help you, Lieutenant?"

"As a matter of fact, you can," Kirk replied, "There were four prisoners brought in here earlier. I wish to question them."

"Do you mean those four civilian spies that Colonel Fischer sent over?"

"Yes, Sergeant, those are the ones."

The sergeant held out his hand. "Let me see your papers."

Kirk shrugged. "I don't have any."

The sergeant stared at Kirk, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. "You cannot question the prisoners without written authority, Lieutenant."

"But, I'm from the Gestapo."

"I don't care where you are from," the sergeant replied, rising from his chair, "No papers, no prisoners!"

Kirk turned to his first officer. "Well, Mr. Spock, it looks like we'll have to do this the hard way."

Kirk and Spock both took a step back from the desk. Kirk aimed his phaser at the sergeant and pushed the button. A beam of light shot out, and the sergeant slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Just then several guards walked into the entranceway. They saw the sergeant on the floor, but before they could react, Spock aimed his phaser, and a moment later they, too, were out.

Kirk circled around the desk and knelt down next to the sergeant. He removed the large key ring from his belt and stood up. Then he gazed at all the keys hanging from the ring and said, "Any guess which cell they're in, Mr. Spock?"

"No, sir," Spock replied.

Kirk rolled his eyes. "Well, then use your logic. If you just brought in four people who you suspect of spying on a top secret facility, where would you put them?"

Spock thought for a moment. "The most logical place would be furthest away from the main entrance."

Kirk grinned. "Then that's where we'll start. Come on."

The two men headed toward the hall, and when they got there, noticed the floor they were on seemed to contain offices. They spotted a stairway off to their left, and climbed down to the lower level. When they walked out into the hall, they saw holding cells on either side, and knew their team had to be down there, somewhere.

Kirk took Spock's advice, and walked quickly to the end of the hall. Each door had a tiny window in it, about eye level, with a square piece of wood that covered it. Kirk decided to start checking the cells on the left, and gestured to Spock to check the ones on the right. He lifted the wooden cover on the window of the last cell and peeked in, but it was empty. He was just about to go to the next one, when Spock said, "I've found them, Captain."

Sure enough, they were in the last cell on the right. "Mr. Spock, your logic is impeccable, as always," Kirk said, smiling at him.

Spock nodded slightly. "Thank you, Captain," he replied.

Kirk fumbled with the keys until he found the right one, and unlocked the door. Four heads turned in his direction; fear etched on their faces. Then one of the men broke into a smile and exclaimed, "Keptain! I knew you vould find us!"

The other three, realizing it was Captain Kirk standing there, breathed a sigh of relief and smiled wide. Tiger and LeBeau jumped up from the cot, and Tiger stepped closer to Kirk. "Thank you for rescuing us!" she exclaimed, "I was afraid we might not get out of here before they started their interrogations."

Kirk smiled at her. "Now, what kind of Captain would I be if I let that happen?" he replied, gazing intently into her eyes.

Tiger blushed. "Well, thank you," she muttered; then glanced behind him. "Is Colonel Hogan with you?"

Kirk nodded. "He and Corporal Newkirk are outside waiting for us."

Carter's eyes widened. "They are? Great! Let's get out of here!"

"Oui, I have been in this cell too long already!" LeBeau added.

"All right, but I want you all to stay close to the wall, and if any guards show up, close your eyes and let Spock and me handle them," Kirk instructed.

"Close our eyes?" Carter asked.

"That's an order," Kirk said sternly.

Carter shot a glance at LeBeau, who just shrugged at him. Then both men looked at Kirk and replied, almost in unison, "Yes, sir."

Kirk nodded in acknowledgment. Then he gestured for them to come out of the cell, and he and Spock led them up the hall, back toward the stairwell.

When they got to the first floor, they headed for the main entrance. Just as they reached the area where Kirk and Spock had stunned the guards, they saw about ten or so more guards, milling about the entrance, some of them kneeling over the fallen men.

"Uh, oh," Kirk murmured. The guards must have heard him, because all heads immediately turned in their direction. Kirk spared a quick glance behind him and barked, "Close your eyes, I mean it!" Then he uttered softly to Spock, "On wide beam," and raised his phaser.

Spock raised his at the same time, and after a couple of brief flashes of light, all the guards were on the floor. Kirk looked behind him again, and said, "All right, you can open your eyes now."

Chekov's eyes were already open; he hadn't needed to close them. Carter and LeBeau opened their eyes; gasping at what they saw. Then Tiger opened hers and exclaimed, "Mon Dieu! What happened?"

"It looks like they all fainted," Kirk replied; then added with a smirk, "Must have been some bad sauerkraut they had for dinner."

"They're not…dead, are they?" LeBeau asked hesitantly.

Kirk shook his head. "No, just unconscious. Come on; let's get out of here before they wake up."

The group headed for the doors and quickly exited the building. As soon as they got outside, Hogan and Newkirk walked up; relieved to see them.

"Colonel! Newkirk!" Carter exclaimed, "Boy, are we glad to see you!"

"Oui, mon Colonel…how did you find us?" LeBeau asked.

"We can talk about it later; right now we need to get out of here," Hogan said. Then he sidled up to Tiger and put his arm around her. "Are you all right?" he asked with concern.

"Oui, Colonel Hogan," she replied, smiling up at him.

Hogan returned her smile. "Good. Why don't you come back to camp with us? You'll be safer there, when they start their search."

"I don't know, Colonel," she wavered, "It might be better for me to go straight home; if they find me there, I can say I've been home all night."

Hogan nodded reluctantly. "Yes, I see your point. All right, you better get going…" his voice trailed off as he heard a car coming down the road. It was going pretty fast, and as it turned into the parking lot of the SS headquarters, it came screeching to a stop. A moment later, Hochstetter jumped out of the driver's seat and strode quickly up to the group, pointing his gun at them. "Aha!" he shouted, "I knew it! Colonel Hogan, you _are_ a spy! I've caught you red-handed this time!"

"Major, I don't know what you're talking about," Hogan replied, more out of habit than the belief he could talk his way out of this one.

"Hogan, you are wearing a Gestapo uniform!" Hochstetter yelled, but the twinkle in his eyes gave away the glee he was feeling at catching Hogan in the act – at last.

"My other uniform's at the cleaners," Hogan quipped.

"Then why is Corporal Newkirk wearing one? And why are Corporal LeBeau and Sergeant Carter in civilian clothes? And who are these men?" Hochstetter thundered, pointing to Kirk and Spock.

"I'm Captain Kirk," Kirk answered politely, "And you must be Major Hochstetter."

Hochstetter eyed him suspiciously. "How do you know who I am?"

"What?" Kirk feigned surprise. "Why, everyone's heard of you, Major. You're one of Hitler's best friends, aren't you?"

Hochstetter looked stunned. Before he could utter a reply, Kirk looked past him and pointed to the street. His eyes grew wide and he exclaimed, "Look! Here comes the Fuhrer now!"

Hochstetter instinctively turned, and Spock quickly reached for the base of the Major's neck. A moment later, Hochstetter lay on the ground, unconscious.

Carter, Newkirk, LeBeau and Tiger all stared at the Vulcan in shock. Hogan looked at them and said, "It's all right, nothing to worry about. I've seen him do that before. "

"Yes, the major will be fine," Kirk added, "Now, gentlemen…and mademoiselle," Kirk smiled at Tiger and tipped his hat, "I suggest we get going."

"But, what about Hochstetter?" Newkirk said, pointing to the man on the ground. "He's seen us out of camp…in Gestapo uniforms! Even if we make it back to camp, when he comes to, we're done for!"

"Pierre is right, Colonel!" LeBeau exclaimed, "What are we going to do?"

"I think we can take care of that," Kirk said, glancing at Spock.

"Of course you can," Hogan mumbled irritably.

Kirk sighed. "Look, Mr. Spock, here, has a…technique that will help the major forget he saw us," he told them, "But he needs quiet, so why don't we start back to camp and let him work."

"But, what about Mr. Spock?" Carter asked.

"He'll catch up to us. It doesn't take long," Kirk replied, reassuringly.

"All right, you heard the Captain," Hogan said, a slight hint of resentment in his voice, "Let's go."

The group headed away from the SS headquarters and back to the woods; once again keeping close to the buildings. As soon as they'd gone, Spock kneeled down next to Hochstetter and placed his fingers on the side of the major's face. His own face went blank for a moment, and then he whispered one word; "Forget."


	13. Nothing's Ever Easy

**Chapter Thirteen: Nothing's Ever Easy  
**

Once they made it to the woods, the group of Allied prisoners and subversives began to pick their way through the forest; the darkness and uneven footing slowing them down a little. Kirk kept an ear open for Spock; he knew the Vulcan could move faster alone, and expected him to catch up soon. Sure enough; after a few more minutes of plodding through the underbrush, they heard a noise behind them, and Spock stepped into view. Kirk sidled up to him and asked quietly, "Everything go all right?" When Spock nodded in response, they all breathed a quiet sigh of relief; then continued on.

Hogan was in the lead; he knew the way back to camp practically in his sleep by now. Tiger was right behind him; she'd had to tag along when they made their escape. Newkirk had fallen in behind her, and he was, in turn, followed by Carter, LeBeau, Chekov, Kirk, and Spock.

They walked along, trying to be as quiet as possible, when Hogan abruptly stopped; holding up his hand for the group behind him to do likewise. He thought he'd heard something up ahead, and craned his neck forward to listen.

The sound of gunshots suddenly rang out. Hogan ducked; then glanced over his shoulder and hissed, "Take cover!" He took off through the trees, the others following. A few more shots were fired, and Hogan heard a couple of thuds behind him. He stopped and whirled around; there, lying on the forest floor, were Tiger and Newkirk!

Hogan ran over to them, unmindful of the bullets that whizzed past him, missing him by inches. They both appeared to be unconscious; Tiger was lying on her back with her eyes closed, looking almost like she was sleeping. Newkirk was on his stomach, and the back of his jacket had a wet spot forming over his shoulder that was slowly growing.

The rest of the men caught up to Hogan, and when they saw their two fallen comrades, they immediately wanted to help. But Hogan glanced at them and said as loud as he dared, "See if you can find out who's shooting, and stop them!"

The men nodded; then took off; everyone except Kirk. "You'll need a hand with these two," he uttered quietly.

Hogan nodded, knowing he was right. Kirk, who happened to be standing next to where Tiger lay, knelt down to see where she was injured, while Hogan crouched down next to Newkirk, frantically trying to assess his injuries. "Newkirk," he called out to the wounded man, "Newkirk, can you hear me?"

Hogan heard a groan escape the corporal's lips; then Newkirk mumbled, "Blimey, what 'appened?"

"You got shot," Hogan answered him.

"I did?" Newkirk sounded surprised, "Am…am I goin' to make it?"

"Yes, you're gonna make it," Hogan replied, "I just have to take a look and see how bad it is…" His voice trailed off as he slowly pulled Newkirk's jacket down his back.

Newkirk moaned and uttered, "Me shoulder…it ruddy 'urts… Cor!"

"Sorry," Hogan apologized as he finished tugging the jacket off Newkirk. He looked once again at the Englishman's shoulder, and winced when he saw the large blood stain on his shirt. "We've got to get you back to camp," he muttered as he balled up the jacket in his hands and pressed it to his shoulder. He glanced up at Kirk and asked worriedly, "How is she?"

"Her head's bleeding," Kirk replied, and Hogan felt his stomach lurch. "But it appears to be just a graze, as far as I can tell," Kirk continued. "I've already wrapped her head to help stop the bleeding. She's still unconscious, though. I think she has a concussion."

Hogan nodded, relieved that she was still alive. "We have to get her and Newkirk back to Stalag 13 as soon as possible," he said.

"We'll need help," Kirk stated. "The others should be back soon…" No sooner had the words left his lips, than Carter and LeBeau appeared, out of breath, their faces flushed with exertion.

"We caught 'em," Carter uttered between breaths, "It was…Hochstetter's guards. Mr. Spock and Ensign Chekov…they took care of them. They should be back here any second…"

As if on cue, Spock and Chekov hurried up to them, the ensign's face full of concern. "Are they going to be all right?" he asked, glancing at Tiger and Newkirk.

"They should be, if we can get them back to camp," Hogan replied. He looked at Carter and LeBeau, who both had the same worried expressions on their faces. "Why don't you two come over here and help me get Newkirk up?" he said to them.

The two men nodded. They moved over to Newkirk's uninjured side and leaned down; Carter sliding his hand under the Englishman's shoulder, LeBeau gripping him around the chest. Hogan slid his arm underneath the corporal's waist from the other side, and the three of them pulled gently upward.

A string of expletives poured out of Newkirk's mouth as the men helped him first to his knees; then to a standing position. Once he was on his feet, he swayed slightly, but they held him steady. "Bloody 'ell!" Newkirk exclaimed. "Me shoulder feels like it's on fire!"

The spot on Newkirk's shoulder was growing wetter, and Hogan handed the jacket to Carter. "Here, hold this against the wound," he said; then, when Carter took it, he grabbed the sergeant's hand and helped him press the jacket to Newkirk's shoulder. When he was satisfied that Carter was applying enough pressure, he removed his belt and wrapped it tightly around the jacket and the corporal's shoulder, securing the makeshift bandage in place. Then he turned his attention to Tiger.

"How is she?" Hogan asked worriedly, kneeling down on the opposite side of Kirk. He lifted her hand and placed it gently in his own.

"Still unconscious," Kirk replied.

"We'll have to carry her," Hogan stated.

"I don't think it's wise to move her," Kirk countered.

Hogan frowned. "I'm not leaving her here."

Kirk appeared to contemplate for a moment. "Well, maybe there's another way – "

"Captain," Spock interrupted, "May I speak to you privately?"

Kirk looked up at his first officer. "All right, Mr. Spock." He stood up, and the two men moved a short distance away.

"Sir," Spock began, "We cannot beam the young woman aboard the Enterprise; the risk would be too great."

Kirk's eyes widened. "How did you know I was going to…oh, never mind." He let out a sigh. "Yes, I know you're right, Mr. Spock. I'm the one who said no using the transporter unless it was an extreme emergency – we can't risk changing history any more than necessary. But, what if she dies, and she's not meant to? She wouldn't be out here if it weren't for us…"

"If she dies," Spock answered, "Then, perhaps she _is_ meant to, since our being here is a part of history."

Kirk frowned. "Mr. Spock, sometimes I hate your logic."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Captain, that statement is illogical."

Kirk smiled slightly and shook his head. "Come on; let's help Colonel Hogan get Tiger back to Stalag 13."

The two men walked back to the group. "You're right, Colonel," Kirk said, "We'll have to carry her."

"That's what I thought," Hogan answered, glancing at him smugly. "Okay, help me lift her…" He slid his arms underneath Tiger's body and braced himself to lift her up off the ground; intending to carry her in his arms.

Kirk eyed him with concern. "You're not planning on carrying her all the way back to camp by yourself, are you?"

"Yes, I am," Hogan shot back, "Now, are you going to help me here or not?"

"Okay, okay," Kirk replied. He squatted down on the other side and slid his own arms under Tiger, and together, he and Hogan lifted her up gently, until they were both standing. Hogan shifted his hold, and Kirk helped lean Tiger's injured head against the colonel's shoulder.

Hogan nodded that he had her. Kirk let go, and Hogan glanced at the rest of the men. "Carter, LeBeau, help Newkirk. C'mon, let's get back to camp."

The group headed out; at a much slower pace this time. After about ten minutes, Hogan's arms began to tire. He stopped for a moment to shift Tiger's body a little; then kept going. He tossed a glance at Newkirk, who wasn't looking good at all. The corporal had begun stumbling more and more over the last few minutes or so, and his face was a mask of pain. Every so often a quiet moan would escape his lips when his foot came down too hard; sending a jolt of pain through his shoulder.

Hogan stopped again and turned to the group. "This is taking too long," he said to them quietly, "The longer we're out here, the bigger the chance they'll find us."

"You have something in mind, Colonel?" Carter asked.

"Yeah." Hogan hated what he was about to do, but he knew he had no choice. He moved over to Kirk and asked, "Can you take Tiger the rest of the way?"

Kirk shook his head slightly. "I don't think so, Colonel; I don't trust my left arm – it's still pretty sore. But Mr. Spock can; he's strong. He wouldn't have any trouble carrying her."

Hogan eyed Spock uncertainly for a moment. The Lieutenant stared back; calm and emotionless as always. Finally Hogan nodded; then he let out a sigh. "All right, here's what we're gonna do. LeBeau, you take Kirk, Spock, Tiger and Chekov back to camp. Mr. Spock will carry Tiger, so you should be able to move faster. Carter, you're with me."

"But, mon Colonel…"

"Don't worry, LeBeau, we'll make it back," Hogan said, trying to reassure him, "But this way Tiger can get help faster, and there'll be fewer of us to hide if they start searching the woods."

"Oui, Colonel," LeBeau replied, clearly unhappy about the idea of leaving his colonel and his friends behind.

"Oh, and LeBeau, when you get back, have Kinch contact the Underground doctor that's helped us out before…Dr. Siegfried. (1) Tell Kinch to ask him to come to Stalag 13 right away."

LeBeau nodded. "Yes, sir."

Hogan then stepped up to Spock and handed Tiger over to him, laying her head gently against the other man's shoulder. "Take care of her," he uttered, almost in a whisper. He stared at her briefly, brushing his hand lightly along her cheek, letting his feelings for her momentarily show through. Then he stepped back and said, "All right, get going."

LeBeau took the lead, and the men from the Enterprise followed; plus one injured female Underground agent, who was cradled in Spock's arms.

Hogan watched them leave; then walked over to his wounded corporal. "Newkirk, why don't you sit down and rest for a minute?" he told him. "It'll give me a chance to check on your shoulder."

"Yes, sir," Newkirk mumbled through clenched teeth. The pain in his shoulder was excruciating.

Hogan and Carter guided Newkirk over to a tree stump, and helped lower him to a sitting position. Newkirk let out an involuntary moan and squeezed his eyes shut tight for a moment. Hogan undid the belt around his shoulder, and pulled the jacket gingerly from the wound. The bleeding had slowed – judging by the stain on his shirt, which hadn't gotten much bigger - but the area directly over the bullet hole was wet, indicating it hadn't stopped.

Hogan put the jacket back over the wound, and wrapped the belt around Newkirk's shoulder. He looked at the Englishman's pain-filled expression with sympathy, and said, "Not much we can do until we get you back to camp."

Newkirk just nodded. Beads of sweat had broken out on his forehead, despite the fact that the night air was chilly and he wasn't wearing his jacket.

Hogan heaved a sigh; then moved over to Newkirk's non-injured side. "We need to get going, Newkirk. You ready?"

Newkirk nodded again. Hogan leaned down and slid his arm behind the corporal's waist, while Newkirk reached up and laid his good arm around the colonel's shoulders. As Hogan helped him up to his feet, fresh pain exploded in his shoulder, and Newkirk leaned into Hogan, his fingers digging into the colonel's shoulder.

Hogan inwardly winced and held onto him to keep him steady. Newkirk let out a groan; then uttered forcibly, "Bloody 'ell!"

Carter looked at Newkirk worriedly. "Come on, buddy, you can make it," he encouraged his friend, wanting to help him, but afraid to get too close to his injured side. He didn't want to accidentally bump Newkirk's shoulder, and make it worse.

Newkirk threw Carter a look of pain and frustration. "I'm bloody tryin'!" he exclaimed breathily. He started to walk forward, leaning heavily on Hogan for support.

Hogan hung onto him, guiding him through the forest one step at a time. Carter hovered just behind them, ready to help. Once they got going, their pace picked up a little. Still, Hogan knew, it was going to take them a long time to get back.

* * *

(1) Dr. Siegfried is a character created by Deana for her story, _The Right Place at the Right Time_. She graciously allowed me to reference him in my story.


	14. Which Doctor

A/N: I just wanted to say, as far as Newkirk being one of the people wounded in the last chapter - I thought everyone knew by now that Newkirk is my favorite character; of course I'm going to pick on him the most! LOL Besides, I know there are a lot of Newkirk fans here, and I just wanted to add a little 'Newkirk angst' for them (and for me; because I just can't help it!) LOL

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Which Doctor  
**

The group being led by LeBeau was making good time through the forest. They moved quietly through the trees; Spock having no problem keeping up, despite carrying Tiger in his arms. Before long they were back at camp, and LeBeau headed straight for the hollowed-out tree stump. The Frenchman went down first, followed by Kirk, who lingered at the top of the ladder so Spock could hand Tiger to him. Kirk climbed down slowly, the unconscious Underground agent draped over his shoulder. When he reached the bottom, LeBeau directed him to a small room just off the entrance that happened to have two cots in it; one against the wall near the door, the other adjacent to it against the far wall. LeBeau helped Kirk lower Tiger gently onto the cot farthest from the door, and by the time they'd finished, Spock and Chekov had made it down to safety.

"We need to let Kinch know what's going on," LeBeau said.

Kirk glanced at Tiger. "Someone should stay with her."

"I vill, Keptain," Chekov volunteered.

Kirk nodded; then he looked at LeBeau. "Let's go."

LeBeau, Kirk and Spock headed to the main tunnel area underneath the barracks. Kinch was sitting at the radio with his headphones on, but he had his elbow on the table, and was resting his head on his hand with his eyes closed.

"Kinch!" LeBeau called out as he walked up to the table.

Kinch's eyes flew open and he looked up at LeBeau with surprise. "Louis! Hey, it's good to see you!" He smiled and slid the headphones off, letting them rest around his neck. "I take it the colonel got you guys out of SS headquarters."

"Well, Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock actually got us out," LeBeau replied, jerking his thumb in their direction. Then he shook his head slightly and said, "I'll tell you later what happened. Right now we need you to contact Dr. Siegfried and tell him to come to Stalag 13. It's an emergency!"

"What?" Kinch exclaimed, "Who's hurt?"

"Tiger," Kirk answered, "She was shot by a Gestapo guard. We put her on one of the cots in the room back by the exit. She needs a doctor right away."

"Tiger?" Kinch echoed, a shocked expression appearing on his face. "How bad is she? Is the colonel with her?"

"She is unconscious," LeBeau replied, "The colonel is not with her…he and Carter are helping Newkirk back. He was shot, too."

Kinch's eyes widened. "Newkirk was shot, too? How bad is he?"

"I think he'll be all right; he was shot in the shoulder." LeBeau neglected to mention how much pain Newkirk was in, or how much trouble he was having making it back. "They'll be here, soon," he added, hoping he wasn't lying. "In the meantime, we need to get Dr. Siegfried here now!"

Kinch nodded. He put his headphones back on and started calling the Underground, but after several attempts, he realized the radio wasn't working. He took his headphones off and checked the dials and switches, then checked to make sure the power was connected. He tried again, but nothing happened. As he started to examine the radio again, LeBeau asked nervously, "What's wrong?"

"Radio's not working," Kinch muttered. He reached down and pulled out some tubes. "Looks like these are burned out. I can't send any messages until I can get new ones."

"Mon Dieu!" LeBeau exclaimed, looking frustrated, "How are we going to help Tiger? And Newkirk, too, when he gets back here?"

"May I see those?" Kirk asked, holding his hand out to Kinch.

"Yes, sir," Kinch replied, handing them over.

Kirk looked at them for a moment; then showed them to Spock. "You know what these are?" he asked the Vulcan.

"Yes, sir," Spock answered.

"Good. Come with me." Kirk started to walk back in the direction of the emergency exit.

"Wait, where are you going?" LeBeau called out.

"To get you parts for your radio," Kirk replied, "And a doctor."

LeBeau and Kinch watched them leave; wondering what on earth they were planning to do.

* * *

"Come on, Newkirk, you're doing fine," Hogan said as he held onto him. "We're almost there…just keep going."

"You bloody said that a half hour ago!" Newkirk uttered with all the force he could muster. On top of the agonizing pain in his shoulder, he was now becoming lightheaded. Every step was getting harder and harder to make.

"The colonel's right," Carter added enthusiastically, "We _are_ almost there. You can make it; I know you can!"

In reply, Newkirk tripped over a particularly large tree root that was sticking up from the ground, and lost his balance. Hogan, caught by surprise, tried to hang on, but he couldn't stop the corporal from falling to his knees. He did; however, keep Newkirk from landing on his face. Still, Newkirk hit the ground hard, and the pain from his knees as they connected with the ground, coupled with the searing stab of white hot pain that shot through his shoulder, caused him to cry out.

Hogan instinctively clamped his hand over the Englishman's mouth, belatedly muffling his cry. "Sorry, Newkirk, I know you're in pain, but I don't want us to get caught," he murmured, sympathetically.

Suddenly they heard the faint sound of voices drifting towards them through the trees. Hogan let go of Newkirk's mouth and, gripping him tightly around the waist, hauled him back to his feet. Newkirk grit his teeth to keep from inadvertently yelling out again, but a few low, growl-like sounds still escaped his throat.

Carter tapped Hogan on the shoulder just then, making the colonel jump. He looked at Carter, who was pointing to a large log a few yards off. Hogan nodded; then he led Newkirk over to it; practically dragging him there. He helped the corporal sit down, and collapsed on the log next to him. Carter sat down on the other side of Newkirk, staring at him worriedly. The Englishman was pale and sweaty, and he was swaying slightly, like he was about to pass out.

Hogan, still hanging onto Newkirk, leaned in front of him a little and looked at Carter. "We'll stay here for a few minutes," he whispered, "Give whoever's out there time to leave." He glanced at his English corporal and added, "Plus, Newkirk needs to rest."

"'Ow could you…tell?" Newkirk stammered quietly in reply. His eyelids were getting heavy, and he was having trouble keeping them open.

Hogan pulled Newkirk closer to himself, letting the corporal rest his head on his shoulder. Newkirk slumped against him and closed his eyes, and in less than a minute, he was out. Hogan looked at Carter again and whispered, "We may have to carry him the rest of the way."

Carter nodded, fear and worry radiated from his face. "You think he'll be okay, Colonel?"

Hogan smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure he will, Carter," he replied, deep down hoping he was right.

They heard voices again, off in the distance, and Hogan frowned. "Carter, maybe you better go see who's out there; it would help to know what we're up against. But keep yourself hidden, and if you get caught, pretend you're a farmer looking for a runaway cow, or something."

Carter eyed him with confusion. "A runaway cow, sir?"

"You'll think of something…just go!" Hogan whispered fiercely, shooing him with his free hand.

"Yes, sir," Carter whispered back.

Just before he took off, Hogan added quietly, "Be careful."

Carter nodded slightly. "Don't worry, I will, sir." Then he disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

* * *

Kirk and Spock had snuck back out through the emergency exit, and had moved a little ways off from the camp. When they were satisfied that no one was nearby, Kirk pulled out his communicator and flipped it open. "Kirk to Enterprise," he said into the small box.

"_Enterprise, Scott here,"_ came the reply.

"Scotty, I want you to tell Dr. McCoy to change into civilian clothes, something fitting for the 1940's, and beam down to these coordinates as soon as possible."

"_Aye Captain…are you all right, sir?"_

"Yes, I'm fine; so are Spock and Chekov. But we have a couple of wounded people down here; one has a bullet graze to the head, the other was shot in the shoulder. Tell Dr. McCoy to bring what he'll need to take care of them."

"_Aye, sir."_

Oh, and Scotty, we need some radio parts – Mr. Spock here can give you the specifics." He handed the communicator to the Vulcan.

"Let me speak with Lieutenant Uhura," Spock said.

As Spock was talking to the communications officer, Kirk circled the immediate area, listening for any sign that someone was out there. A noise reached his ears, a sort of muffled cry, and he stopped; straining to hear. There were no further sounds, and after a few moments, he chalked it up to an animal. He turned back to Spock, who had just finished his conversation with Uhura. Spock handed him the communicator, and Kirk asked for Mr. Scott.

"Scotty, we'll be waiting here for Dr. McCoy. And tell him to hurry; we need him down here right away."

"_Aye, Captain."_

"Oh, and don't forget the radio parts."

"_Aye, sir."_

"Kirk out." He closed the communicator and stuck it under his jacket. "McCoy better not take too long," he muttered, then chuckled softly. "At least he doesn't have to wear boots this time." (1)

Just then they heard a rustling close by, and quietly removed their phasers from underneath their jackets. The sound grew nearer, and suddenly Carter popped out from between two trees.

"Captain Kirk! Mr. Spock!" Carter exclaimed quietly, "What are you doing out here? Where's Louis? And Tiger, and Ensign Chekov?"

"They're all back at camp," Kirk replied. "Mr. Spock and I are out here to, ah, meet up with the doctor."

Carter's eyes widened. "Dr. Siegfried is on his way already? Boy, that was fast!"

"No, Carter," Kirk said, shaking his head slightly, "It's a different doctor. But he'll be able to help Tiger and Newkirk…" His voice trailed off and he glanced behind the sergeant. "What are you doing here? I thought you were helping Colonel Hogan with Newkirk?"

"I am. I mean, I was, but when we heard voices, he sent me ahead to investigate to see who was out here." Carter paused for a moment; then a smile broke out on his face. "Boy, am I glad it was you guys! Uh, I mean, sirs."

Kirk smiled. Then he glanced at Spock, and back to Carter. "Say, why don't you go get Newkirk and your colonel, and bring them here? By the time you return, I'm sure the doctor will have arrived."

Carter's face instantly filled with worry. "Well, you see, sir, Newkirk's gotten worse. We may have to carry him back to camp…" He paused, and his eyes lit up. "Hey, if you could help, I bet we could move him a lot faster!"

Kirk hesitated, glancing at Spock.

"Captain, I can wait for the doctor," Spock said, "If you want to accompany the sergeant back to help with the injured corporal."

Kirk nodded. "An excellent idea, Mr. Spock." He turned to Carter and said, "Lead the way."

Carter hurried back to where he'd left Hogan and Newkirk, Kirk following right behind him. When they got there, Hogan, who had initially tensed – not knowing who was coming his way – caught a glimpse of Carter and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Then he saw who was with him, and his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Captain Kirk, what are you doing out here? I thought I sent you back to camp with LeBeau."

"You did, Colonel. We made it back fine. Mr. Spock and I are just out here to meet with the doctor."

"So those were your voices we heard?" Hogan asked.

"Yes, Colonel. Sorry if we scared you." Kirk turned his attention to Newkirk, who still had his head resting against Hogan's shoulder, and he frowned. "Corporal Newkirk looks terrible."

"Yes, he's in bad shape," Hogan replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at Kirk for stating the obvious. "I could use a hand getting him back to camp."

"I have a better idea. Why don't I go back and get the doctor when he arrives, and bring him here?" Kirk suggested. "He may be able to make it safer to move him."

"I don't think there's much that Dr. Siegfried can do for him out here," Hogan countered.

"Oh, but Dr. Siegfried isn't coming," Carter piped up, "They're waiting for a different doctor, right, sir?" He directed that last part at Kirk.

"Dr. Siegfried's not coming?" Hogan asked, confused, "Why not? Who is?"

Just then, off in the distance, near the location where Carter had found Kirk and Spock, an eerie glow appeared that illuminated the sky just above the trees. It seemed to be centered in one spot, and it stayed there for a full five seconds or so; then it was gone.

Hogan and Carter glanced at each other, wide-eyed. "What was that?" Hogan managed to ask after a few moments.

Kirk smiled slightly. "The doctor has arrived."

* * *

(1) Star Trek episode, _Patterns of Force,_ season two.


	15. The Doctor is In

**Chapter Fifteen: The Doctor is In**

"What?" Hogan turned his shocked expression toward Kirk. "How do you know the doctor has arrived? And what were those lights we saw?"

"Oh, come now, Colonel," Kirk answered, "Surely you could tell those were the headlights of a car!"

"Those didn't look like headlights to me," muttered Carter.

"Me, neither," Hogan agreed.

Kirk threw him a disparaging look. "Then what were they?"

"Aurora Borealis?" said a weak voice next to Hogan's ear.

"Newkirk, you're awake!" Hogan exclaimed softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got run over by that car you're goin' on about."

"Did you see the lights, too?" Carter asked him.

"Yeah," Newkirk replied. "Didn't look like 'eadlights to me, either, but what do I know in my condition?"

"Newkirk, can you sit up?" Hogan said.

Newkirk glanced up at Hogan's face. "I can try, sir," he uttered. He shifted a little and attempted to push himself off of Hogan, while at the same time the colonel was trying to guide him gently to a sitting position with his hands. Newkirk's face screwed up in pain, and he started to turn blue.

"Breathe, Newkirk!" Hogan exclaimed worriedly.

Newkirk opened his mouth and let out the breath he'd been holding. Then he sucked in a few gulps of air, moaning each time he exhaled.

Hogan looked up at Kirk and said, "You better go get that doctor; he needs help now!"

As if on cue, they heard footsteps coming towards them from the woods, and Mr. Spock appeared, followed by a tall, lean man with dark hair, who was wearing civilian clothes and carrying a medical bag.

"Mr. Spock, you just saved me a trip," Kirk said; then he looked at McCoy and smiled. "Dr. McCoy, I'm glad you could make it. I have a patient for you right over here." He grabbed McCoy's arm and led him over to the injured corporal.

McCoy took one look at Newkirk and set his bag down on the log next to him. He opened the bag, and as he began rummaging around in it, he asked, "What happened to him?"

"He was shot in the shoulder," Hogan answered.

McCoy glanced at Hogan and brusquely replied, "You'll have to move; I need room to examine him."

Hogan eyed him suspiciously. "Look, Corporal Newkirk's one of my men, and I'm not going to leave him just because you want to examine him. Besides, I don't even know you…how do I know I can trust you?"

"How do you know you can't?" McCoy replied tersely; then he let out a sigh. "Colonel…Hogan, is it?"

Hogan nodded.

"Colonel Hogan, I'm just an old, country doctor from the great state of Georgia. (1) Now, all I want to do is heal this young man. Are you going to let me do my job or not?"

Hogan stared at him for a moment. "All right," he finally relented. He got up and walked over to where Carter was standing, tossing a glare in Kirk's direction.

McCoy turned back to Newkirk. He reached up and undid the belt around his shoulder; then gently pulled the jacket off that was covering the wound. Next, he took his medical scanner out of the bag, and ran it over Newkirk's chest and shoulder. He frowned as he checked the readings on it, and reached into his bag again, pulling out a hypospray. As he brought it toward Newkirk, the Englishman's eyes widened with apprehension.

"You're not goin' to stick me with that, are you?" he asked, thinking it was a needle.

McCoy smiled. "Relax, you won't feel a thing." Then he placed the hypospray against his arm – without rolling up his sleeve – and pushed the plunger.

There was a sound like hissing air, and then it was over. Newkirk stared at his arm with amazement for a moment; then looked at McCoy. "You're right, Doc; I didn't feel a ruddy thing!"

"That should help with the pain," McCoy told him. "Now, you're gonna have to lie down for me to fix your shoulder." He glanced around at the forest floor; then over to Hogan. "Someplace indoors would be preferable."

Hogan hesitated. If they took Newkirk back to camp and brought the doctor with them, then that would be one more person who knew about their operation – one more person that he knew nothing about, and one more risk that he wasn't sure he was willing to take.

As if in answer, Kirk said, "It's all right, Colonel, Dr. McCoy knows what you and your men are doing at Stalag 13."

Anger flashed in Hogan's eyes. "Is there anyone who doesn't know?" he retorted.

McCoy walked over and said, "Don't worry, Colonel, I won't tell anyone." Then he moved next to Kirk and asked, "Can I talk to you for a minute, Captain?"

Kirk nodded, and the two men moved a short distance away. "What is it, Bones?" Kirk asked quietly.

"Jim, I scanned Corporal Newkirk's shoulder, and the bullet is lodged in the back of his scapula – that's his shoulder blade."

Kirk scowled at him. "I know what the scapula is."

McCoy shot him an apologetic look. "Well, that's going to be a problem," he continued, "I didn't bring anything down with me to extract a bullet that's embedded in a bone."

"What? Didn't Mr. Scott tell you that one of the injuries was a bullet in the shoulder?"

"No, Captain, he said someone had been shot in the shoulder. I was expecting to find muscle and tissue damage, not a piece of lead stuck in his scapula!"

Kirk heaved a sigh. "All right, Bones, what do you need?"

"I have a piece of equipment that will do the trick quite nicely. I just need to call the ship and have them beam it down."

"Uh, huh," Kirk nodded; then frowned at him. "Have you forgotten where we are? We can't just beam things down here whenever we want."

It was McCoy's turn to frown. "Would you rather have me dig it out of his shoulder blade with a knife?"

Kirk threw his hands up in surrender. "All right, all right! Here," he pulled out his communicator and handed it to McCoy. "Just make sure you get everything you need this time."

"I will, Captain," McCoy replied; then he moved off to call the ship.

Kirk sighed and shook his head. This mission was getting more and more complicated by the minute! He returned to the group and said, "Are you ready to get going?"

"Where's Dr. McCoy?" Hogan asked.

"He'll be right back. He, ah, had something urgent to take care of."

Hogan and Carter glanced at each other knowingly.

"In the meantime," Kirk said, "Why don't we see if we can get Newkirk on his feet?" He started to walk over to the corporal, when Hogan cut him off.

"I'll do it," Hogan stated curtly. He stepped over to Newkirk and sat down next to him, on his uninjured side. Then he turned his head to face the Englishman and asked, "You ready to give it a try?"

Newkirk smiled at him. "Give what a try, gov'nor?"

"Walking!" Hogan replied, a hint of frustration in his voice.

"Oh, that! Sure, I'll give it a try."

Hogan inwardly rolled his eyes. He slid his arm behind Newkirk's waist and said, "All right, Corporal, let's get you on your feet." He began to stand, lifting Newkirk up as he did.

Newkirk slung his arm once again around Hogan's shoulders and rose up slowly. When he was standing, he glanced around, and remarked in amazement, "Blimey, would you look at that! I'm tall!"

Hogan looked over at Kirk. "What did Dr. McCoy give him?"

Kirk shrugged. "Something for the pain," he replied.

Hogan rolled his eyes for real this time. "Okay, Newkirk, we're gonna go back to camp, now. Do you think you can walk for me?"

"Sure thing, Colonel!" Newkirk took a step, and his leg promptly buckled under him. He would have fallen flat on his face if Hogan hadn't been holding onto him.

"Easy there, Newkirk," Hogan said, "You have to keep your leg a little stiffer. Let's try it again."

Newkirk blinked with confusion. "Try what again?"

Just then Dr. McCoy returned, and discreetly handed the communicator back to Kirk. "They said they'd send it to these coordinates in fifteen minutes," he murmured, low enough that only Kirk could hear.

Kirk's eyes widened. "Fifteen minutes? We're never going to get these guys out of here in fifteen minutes!"

"What did you say?" Hogan asked, looking over and noticing the doctor was back.

Kirk thought furiously for a moment. "Dr. McCoy just informed me that Newkirk only has about fifteen minutes or so before that pain medicine knocks him out. I suggest we get him back to camp immediately, gentlemen."

"Here, I can help you, Colonel." Carter moved over to Newkirk's injured side, and, now that the Englishman wasn't in so much pain, he was able to wrap his arm around Newkirk's back to help steady him.

"Andrew! Me mate!" Newkirk exclaimed happily. "Are you comin' to the party, too?"

"Uh, yeah, Newkirk," Carter replied, humoring him. "But we have to walk there, remember?"

"Oh, right! Silly me; 'ow could I forget that?" Newkirk started chuckling.

"Okay then, we better get going," Carter said, smiling at him, and, together with Hogan, got Newkirk walking – more or less – in the direction of the camp.

As they left, Kirk lagged behind and sidled up to Spock. "You know the way back to that tree stump, right?" he whispered.

Spock nodded.

"All right, I want you to stay here – McCoy's got some medical equipment beaming down here in about ten minutes. Hopefully the radio parts will arrive with it."

"Yes, sir," Spock replied quietly.

"And whatever you do…don't get caught." Then Kirk went to rejoin the group heading toward Stalag 13.

* * *

They made it back to camp without further incident. Hogan and Carter had a heck of a time getting Newkirk through the tree stump and down the ladder, but after they got the Englishman to stop giggling long enough to cooperate, they finally managed.

When they were all safely down in the tunnel, Hogan glanced around and asked, "Where's Mr. Spock?"

"He's getting radio parts for Sergeant Kinch," Kirk replied.

"What?" Hogan frowned. "Where is he gonna find radio parts at this time of night?"

"He knows an all-night radio parts store," Kirk quipped.

Hogan's eyes flashed with anger. "Captain, I'm getting very tired of your flippant attitude. Don't you realize how dangerous this is?"

"How dangerous what is?"

"All of it!" Hogan shouted. "Don't you understand? This isn't a game; one wrong move and it's the end of our operation – and us!"

Kirk sighed. "Yes, I do understand, Colonel. But you don't have to worry about me or my crew – we can take care of ourselves."

"That's what they all say, until it's too late!"

"Colonel," Carter interrupted, "Newkirk's getting…heavy…"

Hogan whirled around and saw Carter desperately trying to hang onto Newkirk, who was slumping toward the floor with his eyes closed. He started to move over to him, but McCoy beat him to it.

"Here," McCoy said, grabbing Newkirk and helping Carter pull him back up, "Do you have somewhere we can lay him down?"

"There's a cot in there," Hogan pointed to the small room just to the left of the ladder.

McCoy and Carter started to half-lead, half-drag Newkirk in there, when Chekov appeared in the doorway. "Dr. McCoy! I'm glad you're here; I have a patient in here for you."

"You have a patient in there?" McCoy asked, sounding confused, "I have a patient out here!"

"Tiger!" Hogan exclaimed, and ran into the room. He saw her lying on the cot, still unconscious. One of the men had covered her with a blanket, and there was a fresh bandage wrapped around her head.

Hogan looked over at Chekov. "How is she?" he asked worriedly.

"No change, sir," he answered, "But her pulse is strong, and she has been breathing normally."

"Uh, Colonel?" Carter called out anxiously.

"Oh! Yes, Carter, bring Newkirk in; you can put him on the cot by the door."

Carter and McCoy managed to get Newkirk over to the cot; laying him down as gently as they could onto his stomach. McCoy immediately went to work, setting his bag down and pulling out a small, sharp pair of scissors to cut away Newkirk's shirt. Then he replaced the scissors and grabbed something to clean the wound with. As he worked, Hogan sat with Tiger, talking to her softly, seeing if he could get a response from her.

Just then they heard someone open the cover to the tree stump and start to climb down. Hogan looked up anxiously; but Kirk, who was standing in the doorway, raised his hand and said, "Don't worry; I'll take care of it." He turned around and walked over to the ladder. Sure enough it was Spock.

"Did you get the medical equipment?" Kirk asked.

"Yes, sir," Spock answered, and held out a small bag.

Just as Kirk took it and turned toward the room, he heard someone else climbing down the ladder. He looked back, and his eyes grew wide with surprise.

It was Lieutenant Uhura!

* * *

(1) As I recall, in Star Trek; the original series, Doctor McCoy mentioned he was from Georgia. I haven't had the opportunity to re-watch the entire series to find where he mentioned it, so I'm just going by memory, here. If I am mistaken, please let me know! :-)


	16. Double Duty

**Chapter Sixteen: Double Duty  
**

Uhura stood there in front of the ladder, wearing a simple knee-length white dress resembling a nurse's uniform, and a thin brown coat that hung open in the front. She was holding a small box in her hand, and when she saw Kirk turn around and look at her, she smiled and said, "Captain, it's good to see you."

Kirk stared back with surprise, blinking a few times. At last he found his voice and exclaimed quietly, "Lieutenant Uhura! What are you doing here?"

Uhura's expression instantly changed to confusion. "Dr. McCoy requested I come down, sir," she replied, her tone suggesting Kirk should know that.

"He did?"

"Yes, sir. Before he left the ship, he mentioned that one of the injured people he had to treat was female, and he wanted a woman to be available to help her, just in case. He was going to bring Nurse Chapel, but I volunteered to come instead."

Kirk frowned. "Why does McCoy need a woman to help her?"

Uhura smiled slightly. "Sir, it's the 1940's…women here feel more comfortable around other women for helping them with…certain things."

"Like what?" Kirk asked; then he immediately held up his hand and muttered, "Never mind." He looked at Spock and asked, "Did you know McCoy had requested Lieutenant Uhura to assist him?"

"No, sir," Spock answered, "But it appears the doctor had a valid reason, taking into consideration the time period we are in – "

"Why, Mr. Spock," Kirk interrupted, looking at him incredulously, "Are you sticking up for him?"

Spock raised an eyebrow. "It would never occur to me, Captain."

Kirk inwardly rolled his eyes. "No, Spock, I'm sure it wouldn't."

Just then Chekov walked up to Kirk and said, "Keptain, Dr. McCoy vants to know if his medical equipment is here yet."

Kirk looked at Chekov and handed him the bag he was holding. "Here, take this to Dr. McCoy," he said: then he turned his attention back to his communications officer.

"Yes, sir," Chekov replied. He shot Uhura a look of surprise at seeing her there, and hurried back to the room.

"So, why did you volunteer to come?" Kirk asked Uhura after Chekov left. "I never got the impression you wanted to be a nurse."

"Well, sir, after Mr. Spock told me about the radio, I thought I would offer my assistance in repairing it. I brought the radio parts with me," she said, holding up the box.

Understanding washed over Kirk. He knew Uhura had a fascination for antique communication equipment. "I see," he said simply. "Thought you could kill two birds with one stone, did you?"

Uhura smiled slightly. "Yes, sir," she replied.

"Captain," Spock interjected, "Uhura's presence here may pose a problem."

Kirk's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, Mr. Spock?"

Spock shifted almost imperceptively, as though he were uncomfortable about what he had to say. "Sir, there were very few black nurses in the Army Nurse Corps during World War Two, and I believe they were only allowed to treat black troops." (1)

Kirk's eyebrows shot up with surprise. "Really?"

Spock nodded slightly. "Yes, sir."

Uhura's own eyes grew wide. "He's right, sir," she replied, "I'm sorry, Captain, I completely forgot..."

"It's all right, Lieutenant," Kirk said; then he let out a sigh. "Not one of our better legacies, is it? For humans, I mean. At least we know in the future there won't be any more prejudice."

The three of them stood there silently for a moment. Then Kirk squared his shoulders and, looking at Uhura, said, "Well, you're already down here, Lieutenant – or should I say, Nurse?" He smiled at her and continued. "If anyone has a problem with you, they'll have to answer to me."

Uhura smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Captain."

"Come on," Kirk said, "Let's go see what Dr. McCoy's up to."

The three of them walked into the room, and Kirk noticed McCoy picking through the bag that he'd just received. Kirk walked over to him and announced, "Dr. McCoy, your nurse is here."

McCoy glanced up; then went back to examining the contents of the bag. "All right, I'll let you know when I need you, Nurse Uhura."

Hogan glanced over and frowned. "How many more people are you planning to bring down here, Captain?" he asked irritably.

"Just the nurse, here," Kirk replied.

Hogan looked like he was about to say something else; then he sighed and turned his attention back to Tiger. If he'd thought anything odd about the fact that Uhura was black, he made no indication of it, and Kirk's respect for him went up a notch.

"Sir, since Dr. McCoy doesn't need me at the moment," Uhura said to Kirk, "Would it be possible for me to…?" She held up the box with the radio parts.

Kirk looked over at Hogan. "Colonel, Nurse Uhura has some radio parts to give to Sergeant Kinch…" his voice trailed off as Hogan shot him a glare.

"Don't tell me; let me guess," Hogan replied sarcastically, "She knows all about radio equipment, too."

Kirk opened his mouth to reply, but Uhura stayed him with a hand on his arm. "Yes, sir, I do," she answered Hogan, "My father was an expert with radios; he taught me all about them." She smiled slightly, but there was a twinge of disappointment in her eyes. "It's more of a hobby, really; not something I could do professionally…you understand."

Hogan's expression softened. "Yes, I do," he replied. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "All right, I don't suppose it would hurt to let you give Kinch a hand, if he needs it." Then he smiled and added, "You don't look like a German spy to me."

Uhura returned his smile. "Thank you, sir."

"Carter," Hogan said, turning his head to look at him, "Why don't you show Nurse Uhura to the radio room?"

"Yes, sir," Carter replied. He smiled at Uhura and gestured to the door. "This way, ma'am," he said politely.

As Carter led her out, Hogan's gaze fell on McCoy, who was hunched over Newkirk's shoulder. "How's he doing?" he asked.

"He'll be all right," McCoy mumbled absently while he continued to work, "I have a few more things to do."

Hogan nodded and turned back to Tiger.

Kirk moved a little closer to McCoy, who was holding a long, thin instrument in his hand that was partially inserted into Newkirk's wound. As Kirk watched, McCoy slowly extracted the instrument, and as he pulled it out of the wound, there was a small, misshapen piece of lead attached to the end of it.

"Is that the bullet?" Kirk asked.

McCoy nodded and held up the instrument in his hand. "This thing acts as sort of a metal magnet; only much stronger. When the end of it touches a piece of metal, it immediately attaches itself to it, and it won't let go until I turn it off, see?" He grabbed the bullet in his gloved hand and tried to remove it from the end of the instrument, but it wouldn't budge. Then he pressed a small button on the other end, and the bullet fell right off.

Kirk nodded, clearly impressed. "Is that the equipment you needed from the ship?" He asked quietly, not wanting Hogan to overhear him.

"Yes, sir," McCoy responded, "Well, that, and this one." He held up another long, thin instrument. "This stimulates bone tissue…causes it to heal incredibly fast. I just need to place the end of this on his scapula for a few seconds where the bullet injured it, and once I remove it, the bone should heal itself in a matter of hours."

"That's amazing, Bones," Kirk grinned.

McCoy smiled. "Yes, it is." Then his smile faded. "I daresay, if I had to use what's available in this time period…"

Kirk nodded with understanding. "Yes, I can see why you wanted those sent down. I'm sure Newkirk would appreciate it, too…if you could tell him."

"As long as he'll be all right, Jim; that's all I care about."

Kirk smiled. "With you as his doctor, he's got nothing to worry about."

McCoy grinned.

"Well, I'll let you get back to work, Bones," Kirk said. "When you finish up with Newkirk, you can take a look at the Underground agent. Her injuries aren't as severe as the corporal, but she has been unconscious for a while."

"Yes, sir," McCoy replied. Then he turned his attention back to Newkirk and went to work.

* * *

Carter led Uhura to the main room of the tunnel system, where the radio and maps were kept. Kinch and LeBeau were both there, standing on either side of the large table in the middle of the room and looking at the map that had been placed on top of it earlier. They both had concerned looks on their faces, but as soon as they saw Carter, their expressions visibly changed to relief.

"Hey, fellas, we're back!" Carter called out, smiling at them.

"It's about time!" LeBeau exclaimed, "We've been worried about you!"

"Sorry, Louis," Carter apologized, "It took us longer than we thought it would. First, Newkirk had to rest a while, and then we ran into Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, who found a doctor, and then we had to get Newkirk back here – "

"How is Peter?" Kinch cut in.

"He'll be okay," Carter said, "The doctor's fixing him up right now."

"Where's the Colonel?" LeBeau asked.

"He's sitting with Tiger."

"Ah, Oui," LeBeau murmured, nodding.

"Say, Andrew, did Captain Kirk mention anything to you about radio parts…" Kinch's voice trailed off as he stared at the woman who stepped out from behind Carter.

"I have the radio parts for you," Uhura said, gazing at Kinch with interest.

"And who might you be?" Kinch asked, gazing back, the sides of his mouth curving up.

"My name is Nyota Uhura."

"I'm Sergeant James Kinchloe, but everyone calls me Kinch."

Uhura stepped closer. "I'd rather call you James," she replied softly.

LeBeau hurried over to Carter and grabbed his arm. "Why don't we go check on Newkirk?" he said, taking off for the tunnel and trying to pull Carter with him.

Carter resisted, shaking his head slightly. "Oh, I'm sure Dr. McCoy isn't finished with him, yet. We'd probably just get in…what?" he asked with annoyance when LeBeau tugged hard on his arm. The Frenchman flicked his gaze over at Kinch and Uhura, and then back to Carter. The American sergeant followed his eyes, and when he saw the way the two of them were looking at each other, it finally dawned on him what LeBeau was trying to tell him. "Oh!" he exclaimed; then smiled at LeBeau. "Yeah, Louis, let's go see how Newkirk's doing."

LeBeau rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. Then he led Carter out of the main area and down the tunnel toward the room where Newkirk and the colonel were.

When they got there, they noticed that McCoy was gently wiping the area on Newkirk's shoulder where the bullet wound was. Carter took a step closer, and as McCoy finished, he peered at the wound. It looked like it was closed up, but there were no visible stitches on it to hold it closed.

"How did you do that?" Carter asked curiously as McCoy rummaged around in his bag for a bandage.

"Do what?" McCoy said, glancing at Carter before placing the bandage over the wound.

"How did you make the hole in his shoulder stay closed without stitches?"

"Oh, that," McCoy answered. "Just a little technique I came up with – "

"But you can't tell anyone," Kirk cut in, placing his hand on the sergeant's shoulder, "It's a secret."

"Oh, I won't tell anyone, sir. You can count on me!"

Kirk smiled. "Good man." He gave Carter's shoulder a squeeze and let go.

"There, all done," McCoy said, affixing the bandage to the wound. He stuffed everything back in his bag and stood up. "All right, let me take a look at the Underground agent…Tiger, is it?"

"You can call her that," Hogan said as he got up from the cot to let McCoy examine her.

McCoy gently unwrapped the bandage on Tiger's head, and leaned in to take a look at the wound. He noticed a gash on the side of her head, flaked with dried blood. McCoy reached into his bag that he'd set on the floor, and pulled out his medical scanner. He ran it over her head and chest, and looked at the readings. Then he took out something to clean the wound, and when he was through, he bandaged it up again.

"How is she?" Hogan, who had been standing nearby, asked nervously.

"She'll be all right," McCoy answered. "She has a concussion, but it's not serious. I've got some medicine that will make her better." He pulled out a hypospray and, putting it to her arm, administered the medicine. Then he put the hypospray back in his bag and stood up. "She should wake up in a few minutes."

"That's it?" Hogan asked. "What about the gunshot wound?"

"That's not a gunshot wound, Colonel," McCoy told him, "It looks like she fell and hit her head on a rock or something. It's a pretty superficial laceration…it should heal up in no time."

Hogan sighed with relief. "She must have tripped trying to make a run for it."

"That sounds logical," McCoy said.

"Bones, I think Spock is rubbing off on you," Kirk piped up, grinning at him.

McCoy turned to glare at him. "Captain, please; don't insult me."

LeBeau happened to glance at his watch just then, and his eyes widened when he saw what time it was. "Colonel," he called out, his voice filled with urgency, "It's almost time for roll call!"

"We better go," Hogan said, glancing at LeBeau and Carter.

"What are we gonna do about Newkirk?" Carter asked.

Hogan looked at McCoy, who shook his head. "Newkirk will be out for a few hours, Colonel. I gave him something to knock him out before I fixed his shoulder."

Hogan sighed. "We'll think of something," he said, and started to head for the door. He spared one last worried glance at Tiger, letting Carter and LeBeau go ahead of him.

"Don't worry, Colonel, we'll take good care of her," Kirk reassured him.

Hogan met Kirk's gaze for a moment. Then he nodded slightly and followed his men out.

* * *

A/N: I made up Dr. McCoy's medical equipment and what it can do. But, I figured, since he has pills that can cause people to grow new kidneys (Star Trek IV – The Voyage Home), I didn't think what I made up is beyond the realm of possibility – for McCoy, anyway. LOL

(1) The Army Nurse Corps accepted only a small number of black nurses during World War II. When the war ended in September 1945 just 479 black nurses were serving in a corps of 50,000 because a quota system imposed by the segregated Army held down the number of black enrollments. In 1943, the Army limited the number of black nurses in the Nurse Corps to 160. They were only allowed to care for black troops in black wards or hospitals. – www(dot)5thplatoon(dot)org /aboutus2(dot)html


	17. Major Confusion

**Chapter Seventeen: Major Confusion**

When Hogan reached the main tunnel area, he noticed that Carter had already disappeared into the small side room where they kept their clothes. Hogan joined him, and they quickly changed into their uniforms; then went back out to head up to the barracks. LeBeau, who had changed earlier, had already climbed up. Hogan glanced at his radioman, who was talking to Uhura, and he called out, "Kinch, time for roll call."

Kinch swiveled his head to look at Hogan. "Yes, sir," he replied, nodding at him. Then he turned back to Uhura. "I have to go."

"I know," she replied.

Kinch gazed at her for a moment; then turned and headed for the ladder. When he got there, he glanced back at her. "I'll be back soon," he promised.

Uhura smiled. "I'll be here."

Hogan watched the exchange, and inwardly rolled his eyes. Just what he needed; a lovesick Kinch! He waited for the sergeant to climb up to the barracks; then followed after. He'd barely closed the trapdoor, when Schultz barged in and announced with his usual lack of finesse that it was time for roll call.

As the men began filing out of the barracks, Hogan was still thinking furiously for a good cover story to explain Newkirk's absence. Without one, they might be able to fool Schultz for a few minutes, but the big German guard would catch on eventually; especially since Newkirk's spot was in the front row – right next to Hogan, himself. Then Schultz would feel duty-bound to report it to Klink, who would immediately fill up the woods with guards, and they wouldn't be able to get out of camp; at least, not until Newkirk miraculously reappeared. But, how long was that going to take? The corporal had been seriously injured – it might take him a while to recover enough to be able to rejoin the barracks.

His thoughts turned to Tiger, and a stab of worry hit him. McCoy had said she'd be all right, and, strangely enough, he found himself trusting the doctor. But, McCoy had also said that she would be waking up soon, and if that were true, he wouldn't be there when she did. Now, more than ever, he hated having to stand outside for roll call – for who knew how long – while Tiger lay down in the tunnels, surrounded mostly by strangers. An image of Spock without his helmet on once again flashed through his mind, and he inwardly shuddered.

His thoughts then moved to the mission to blow up the lab. Kirk had told them if they did, it would be disastrous for the whole planet. But, how could he know that? And if it _were_ true, why didn't London know about it, too?

As Hogan went outside and stepped to the front of the line, he let out a small sigh. For a mission that should have been a simple one, everything had suddenly become so complicated. Maybe it would be better if Klink found out Newkirk _was_ missing; it would give him more time to sort things out. He made a mental note to have Kinch contact London and see what he could find out about Captain Kirk – something he should have done right away.

* * *

Just after Hogan and his men left for roll call, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Chekov all heard a moan coming from the cot where Tiger lay. McCoy walked over and started to sit down, but Kirk stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"It might be better if I sit with her, Bones. She knows me."

McCoy nodded. "All right, Jim." He stepped back and turned towards Chekov. "Can you go find Uhura? I may need her soon."

"Yes, sir," Chekov replied, and headed out the door.

Tiger moaned again and blinked her eyes open. "What…what happened?" she stammered weakly, "Where am I?" She raised her hand, her brow furrowing with confusion as she felt the bandage on her head.

"Easy, there," Kirk said, perching himself on the edge of the cot. "You're safe now."

Tiger lowered her hand and looked at Kirk. "Do I know you?" she asked.

Kirk smiled. "Yes, you do. My name is James Kirk."

Tiger squinted up at him. "Oui, now I remember; you rescued us from SS headquarters. You are working with Colonel Hogan…" Her eyelids fluttered briefly, as though she were about to lose consciousness again.

Kirk took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Why don't you rest now?" he said softly.

Tiger's eyes opened once again. "No, I'm all right," she replied. "I want to know what happened. And where is Colonel Hogan?"

"He and his men are at roll call," Kirk told her. "It might be a while before he gets back."

Just then Chekov returned with Uhura. She walked up to McCoy and asked, "Did you need me, Doctor?"

"Yes, Nurse. I thought you could assist our female patient, in case she needs to, uh, use the ladies room."

A small smile appeared on Uhura's face. "Yes, sir," she replied.

McCoy stepped over to the cot and smiled at Tiger. "Well, little lady, how are you feeling?"

Tiger looked at him quizzically. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Dr. McCoy, Miss. They tell me your name is Tiger."

"Oui…you can call me that."

"All right," McCoy said. "Tiger, if you're feeling up to it, I'd like you to try to sit up now."

Tiger glanced at Kirk, who nodded slightly. "It's all right. Would you like me to help you?" He held out his hand.

"No, no, I can manage," Tiger replied, waving him off. She placed her arms against the cot and lifted her upper body slowly, wincing as her head started pounding where she had hit it. McCoy moved closer and put a hand behind her back, lifting gently as she rose to a sitting position. She inhaled and gritted her teeth as she waited for the throbbing and dizziness to subside. After several seconds she exhaled slowly and looked at Kirk.

"Please, tell me what happened," she said to him.

"What's the last thing you remember?" asked Kirk.

"We were walking through the woods…there were gunshots…I started to run…and then I woke up here."

"You fell and hit your head," Kirk explained, "We carried you back here. You've been unconscious until just a few minutes ago."

"So, I wasn't shot?" Tiger replied, looking relieved.

Kirk smiled. "No, you weren't shot. You do have a concussion, though."

"That would explain the terrible pain in my head." Tiger reached up to touch the side of her head that was wounded, and winced.

Kirk grabbed her arm and gently pulled it away from her head. "Now, you just relax," he told her.

"Hey, that's my line, Jim," said McCoy, frowning at him in mock annoyance.

"I'm just trying to help," Kirk replied innocently.

McCoy smirked at him. Then he reached into his bag and pulled out a hypospray. He turned to Tiger and said, "Now that you're awake, I can give you something to help ease that headache you've got." He put the hypospray to her arm and pushed the plunger; then dropped it back into his bag.

"Thank you," Tiger replied, looking somewhat confused; then she glanced from McCoy to Kirk. "Is there a…a washroom nearby?" she asked nervously.

"Yes, there is," Kirk answered, "In fact, Uhura, here, can take you there." He waved at her to come over.

Tiger nodded slightly, looking gratefully at Uhura. She started to stand up, when Kirk slid his arm around her waist and helped her to her feet.

"Thank you, but I can manage," Tiger said, shifting uncomfortably while avoiding his gaze.

"All right," Kirk replied. He let go of her, and her knees promptly buckled. She started to fall, but Kirk caught her, sweeping her up in his arms. Tiger inhaled sharply and instinctively grabbed Kirk's upper arms. She turned her face up to look at him, and when their eyes met, she blushed deeply.

He held her for a moment, the two of them gazing at each other; then he slowly released his hold. He glanced over at Uhura, who came over and grabbed Tiger's arm to help her to the washroom.

Kirk's eyes followed Tiger as Uhura led her away. Then he turned his head to look at McCoy, who was frowning at him.

"I wouldn't if I were you, Jim. She's Colonel Hogan's girlfriend."

Mr. Spock, who had been standing quietly near the opposite wall, conserving his energy, now spoke up. "Dr. McCoy is correct, Captain. If you pursue a relationship with the young woman, you will not only risk losing Colonel Hogan's cooperation, but you could very well alter the future."

Kirk eyed them both angrily. "I'm not pursuing, anything, all right?" he snapped.

McCoy and Spock fell silent. Kirk glared at them for a few moments; then he heaved a sigh and said, "Don't worry; I have no intention of making a play for Hogan's girlfriend. I don't think he likes me very much as it is."

The corners of McCoy's mouth turned up and he walked over to Kirk. He clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Well, now, Jim, you have to put yourself in Hogan's shoes. Would _you_ like you if the situation were reversed?"

Kirk stared at him thoughtfully. "Probably not," he replied with a smirk.

McCoy smiled. "I rest my case."

* * *

Hogan and the rest of the prisoners stood shivering in the chilly predawn air. Schultz was on his third count of the men from Barracks Two; they had successfully managed to confuse him several times already. When he started shouting at them so loud that his face turned red, they decided they better stop. Just as Hogan predicted, Schultz finished his count, and stopped in front of him with a frown on his face.

"Colonel Hogan, I only count fourteen," Schultz said.

"Really?" Hogan replied, feigning innocence, "Are you sure, Schultz? Maybe you should count them again."

In answer, Schultz pointed to the empty spot on Hogan's left and asked pointedly, "Where is Newkirk?"

"Newkirk? Why, he's right here…" Hogan glanced next to him; then looked at Shultz and shrugged. "Well, he was here a minute ago. I wonder where he could have gone off to?"

"I think he said he was cold, mon Colonel," LeBeau interjected, "He probably went back into the barracks to warm up."

Schultz's face screwed up in anger. He opened his mouth and shouted, "Colonel Hogan! Corporal Newkirk needs to come out here at once!"

"Aw, c'mon, Schultz, can't you just pretend he's here?" Hogan pleaded.

Schultz shook his head. "Nein! You _know_ I'm going to have to report this to the Kommandant!"

As if on cue, Klink stepped out of his office, and, after pausing for a moment to survey the compound, walked down the steps and headed for Schultz. "Report!" he yelled brusquely.

Schultz inhaled deeply and shouted, "Herr Kommandant, I beg to report…"

A car came rolling into camp just then, and Schultz's voice trailed off as all heads turned to watch. It stopped in front of the Kommandantur, and an SS Colonel climbed out of the backseat, followed by Major Hochstetter. The Colonel glanced around, and when his eyes lit on Klink, he began to walk over to him. Hochstetter followed; a confused look on his face.

"You are the Kommandant of this Stalag?" the SS Colonel asked Klink as he approached him.

"Yes, sir, I'm Colonel Klink," he replied, "May I help you, Colonel…?"

"Fischer. I presume you know Major Hochstetter," he waved his hand behind him at the Gestapo major.

"Yes, I know the Major," Klink said, more than a hint of nervousness in his voice.

If Fischer noticed, he gave no indication. "I need to speak with you…" he glanced at the prisoners who were still lined up for roll call, "In private, Colonel Klink."

"Yes, of course, Colonel Fischer, we can use my office." Klink gestured to the Kommandantur. "Right this way."

As Klink began to lead Fischer and Hochstetter away, he glanced at Schultz and said, "Dismiss the prisoners, Sergeant."

Shultz's eyes widened with surprise. "But, Kommandant – "

"Now, Schultz!" Klink ordered. Then he and the other two German officers walked toward his office.

Schultz turned toward the prisoners from Barracks Two. He shrugged and said, "Dismissed."

The men hurried back into the barracks. Hogan headed for his office; Kinch, LeBeau and Carter right behind him. When they got inside, Kinch set up the coffee pot; then they all took a seat around it to listen in on the conversation in Klink's office.

* * *

"So, what can I do for you, Colonel Fischer?" asked Klink as he circled around behind his desk, but continued to stand.

"Colonel Klink, I am in charge of a new facility that just opened up near here," Fischer began. "Earlier this evening, my guards captured four civilians spying outside the facility. They were taken to our headquarters in town, where, not long ago, the spies were freed by members of their organization. I can only assume it was the Underground; however, I am at a loss to explain how they managed to knock out every guard at SS headquarters without hurting them."

"That _is_ strange," Klink replied, his face reflecting his surprise.

"Even more strange," Fischer continued, "Was the discovery of Major Hochstetter, here, who was lying on the ground, unconscious, when I arrived."

Klink glanced at Hochstetter, who still had the same confused expression on his face. Then he looked back at Fischer and nodded. "Yes, that is very strange, Colonel."

"Ah, but you haven't heard the strangest part of all, Colonel Klink," Fischer said. "Major Hochstetter seems to be suffering some kind of memory loss."

"He is?" Klink's eyes widened and he looked at Hochstetter again.

"Yes, he is. When he came to, all he could tell us was his name, and then he kept repeating the same word over and over."

"And what word was that?" Klink asked.

"Hogan."


	18. Mind over Matter

**Chapter Eighteen: Mind over Matter  
**

Klink stared at Fischer, trying to comprehend what the SS Colonel had just told him. "Major Hochstetter keeps saying 'Hogan'?" he finally uttered.

"Hogan!" Hochstetter blurted out.

"Yes, Colonel Klink," Fischer replied. "That is why I brought him here; I know you have a prisoner by the name of Colonel Hogan, and I also know of Major Hochstetter's…obsession with him. Perhaps if you have the colonel brought here, it might have some effect on the major."

"Yes, of course, Colonel Fischer, I'll send for Hogan at once!" Klink walked over and opened the door to his office. He poked his head out and saw Hilda sitting at her desk. "Hilda, would you go find Schultz, and have him bring Colonel Hogan here right away?"

"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant," Hilda replied, getting up from her chair and heading for the door that led outside.

Klink moved back towards the side of his desk and said, "Hogan will be here shortly."

"Thank you, Colonel," Fischer responded.

"Hogan!" said Hochstetter.

* * *

Hogan got up from the chair he'd been sitting in, and glanced at Kinch, Carter and LeBeau; all three of whom were obviously trying to suppress their laughter. He frowned at them and said, "This isn't funny, fellas. Whatever Mr. Spock did to Hochstetter, it must have messed up his mind, somehow."

"What would it matter?" asked LeBeau.

"Yeah, Colonel," Carter added, "If Hochstetter's mind is messed up; then he can't bother us, anymore."

Hogan scowled. "Yeah, and then they'll put someone else in charge of the local Gestapo, and he might be even worse!" he exclaimed.

"Worse than Hochstetter?" Kinch said.

Hogan opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it, and instead walked over to grab his crush cap from the upper bunk. "We'll talk about this later. Schultz'll be here any minute to take me over to Klink's office. You three can stay in here and listen in." He opened the door and walked out of his office; closing it quickly behind him when he noticed Schultz standing just inside the doorway of the barracks.

"Hi, Schultz," Hogan said loudly.

Schultz had seen Hogan coming out of his office, and he called out, "Colonel Hogan, the Kommandant wants to see you right away!"

Hogan let out a sigh. "Okay, Schultz, lead the way."

Schultz escorted Hogan across the compound and up to Klink's office. He knocked on the door, and then opened it slightly. "Kommandant, Colonel Hogan is here, as you requested."

"Hogan!" Hochstetter once again blurted out.

"Well, don't just stand there blocking the door, let him in!" Klink exclaimed irritably.

Schultz moved aside, allowing Hogan to enter Klink's office. The American Colonel took a few steps into the room; then stopped when he saw Fischer and Hochstetter standing near the front of Klink's desk. He glanced over at Klink and said, "You wanted to see me, Kommandant?"

Hochstetter looked at Hogan; his eyes growing wide. He started backing up slowly toward the wall, and began uttering Hogan's name over and over, getting louder each time he said it. Hogan looked at Fischer; then they both looked at Klink, who stared back; as wide-eyed as Hochstetter.

Hogan began to walk slowly toward the hysterical Gestapo officer, while talking to him in a soothing voice. "Yes, Major Hochstetter, it's me, Colonel Hogan. You need to calm down, now."

"Hogan! Hogan! Hogan!"

"Major, please!" Hogan had to shout to be heard over him.

Fischer put a hand on Hogan's arm and said, "Let me, Colonel." He walked up to Hochstetter, raised his arm, and, slapping him hard across the face, yelled, "Get a hold of yourself, Major!"

Hochstetter abruptly shut up. He stood there for several seconds, his mouth hanging open, his eyes impossibly wide. All of a sudden he blinked several times, and shook his head slightly. Then he looked at the three men staring intensely at him and asked in his usual irritable tone, "Why are you all staring at me?"

In a flash, Fischer had his hands on Hochstetter's shoulders, and was practically shouting at him. "What happened at SS headquarters?"

Hogan's gut tightened while he waited to hear what Hochstetter would say.

"What are you talking about, Colonel…?"

"Fischer!"

"Colonel Fischer? Of the SS?"

"Yes, yes! Now, what happened last night at the SS headquarters in town?"

Hochstetter looked at him like he was crazy. "How should I know?" he growled, pushing Fischer's hands off his shoulders.

Hogan silently breathed a sigh of relief.

"Because you were there!" Fischer shouted into Hochstetter's face.

Hochstetter's face screwed up with anger. "Bah!" he yelled, his face turning red, "I haven't been anywhere near the SS headquarters in town! I've been looking for a Gestapo Colonel imposter who has escaped!" He narrowed his eyes and glared at Fischer suspiciously. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"Then why did we find you in front of SS headquarters, unconscious?" Fischer yelled back.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Hochstetter thundered. "And you still haven't answered my question!"

"Gentlemen, please!" Hogan interrupted loudly, "There's no reason to shout!"

Hochstetter threw a glare in his direction. "You're right, Hogan, there isn't, because I'm leaving!" He turned and stomped to the door, where he paused and looked back at the Kommandant. "Klink! If that Colonel Kirkmeyer returns, you are to inform me immediately!" Then he left the office, slamming the door hard behind him.

Fischer glared after him. Then he, too, strode over to the door. He looked at Klink and said, "If you hear anything about those spies that got away, or who freed them, you will call me at once!" He opened the door forcefully, and slammed it behind him as he left.

Klink and Hogan stared after them. Then Hogan turned his head to look at Klink.

"If this keeps up, you're gonna need a new door."

"Hogan! Out!" Klink yelled.

"Okay, okay, I'm going," Hogan replied. He walked over to the door and opened it; then gently closed it behind him and headed outside. When he reached the stairs, he heard angry voices, and turned his head to look at the car parked out front. There, Fischer and Hochstetter were arguing with each other again, only this time about the car. Since they'd arrived together, it appeared they'd have to leave together; and neither one of them seemed very happy about it. In the end, Fischer got in the back seat, and Hochstetter took the front passenger seat. The driver started up the car and slowly drove out of camp, and even from where Hogan stood, he could have sworn he saw him roll his eyes.

Hogan strode across the compound and entered the barracks. He noticed that Kinch, Carter and LeBeau were just leaving his office; no doubt they had heard what went on. Before any of them could say a word, Hogan headed straight for the false-bottom bunk and opened it. He started to climb down; then looked over and motioned to the three men to follow.

When they got below, Hogan saw that no one else was in the vicinity. He turned to Kinch and said, "I want you to call London and ask about Captain Kirk. If he's working for the ONI, they should be able to find out."

"But, Colonel, I'm sure he is…I mean, they are…I mean; how would he even know about the ONI otherwise?"

Hogan frowned at him, knowing full well his hesitation had to do with Uhura. "Kinch, that's an order."

"Yes, sir," Kinch replied dejectedly.

Hogan turned to his other two men. "Carter, LeBeau, you come with me. I need to have a little talk with Captain Kirk, and his first officer."

Hogan turned and walked down the tunnel, his two men following. He arrived at the room just off the emergency exit and noticed that all of Kirk's crew were there, and the captain, himself, was seated on the cot next to Tiger, smiling at her. She was sitting up and looking back at the captain, a smile on her face, also. Both of them turned their heads to look at Hogan when he entered the room.

A pang of jealousy sprang up immediately, but Hogan forced it down; he had more important things to take care of at the moment. He looked over to where Mr. Spock was standing by the wall, and asked angrily, "What did you do to Major Hochstetter?"

Kirk rose to his feet and faced Hogan. "Colonel, if you have a problem with one of my crew, you will discuss it with me," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Not this time, Captain; I want to hear it from Mr. Spock," Hogan snapped. "Tell me what you did to Hochstetter!"

"If you are referring to what occurred outside the building of the SS headquarters," Spock replied, his expression unchanging, "I merely erased the image of us and the building from the major's mind."

"Oh, you erased more than that," Hogan informed the Vulcan, "He showed up at camp a few minutes ago, and his memory was almost completely gone!"

"What?" Kirk exclaimed, "That's not possible!" He paused for a moment; then looked at Spock. "Is it?"

Spock raised his eyebrow. "Perhaps if you described the major's condition…"

Hogan sighed. "When he showed up, he only knew his name, and who I was, apparently. He kept repeating my name until he saw me; then he seemed to come to his senses. Luckily, he didn't remember seeing us outside SS headquarters."

Spock nodded slightly. "The major has a rather one-dimensional mind, Colonel. I found it quite unnerving to sift through his thoughts, they were…" The Vulcan paused.

"They were what, Spock?" asked Kirk.

"In a word, Captain – disgusting."

"That's not a surprise," LeBeau piped up.

Hogan threw the Frenchman a glare. Then he turned back to Spock. "Look, I just want to know what you did, and if we have to worry about him suddenly remembering seeing us out there earlier."

Spock appeared to contemplate for a moment. "If the major has not recalled discovering us in front of SS headquarters by now, then I believe it is safe to assume he will not remember that incident in the future."

Hogan frowned. "How did you make him forget?"

"He's had extensive training in hypnosis," Kirk interjected.

Hogan kept his eyes on Spock. "Is that what you did to Hochstetter? Hypnotize him?"

Spock shifted almost imperceptibly. "That would be a simplistic description of my technique."

"Your technique?"

"Yes, sir. I was attempting to alter his memory of what occurred at SS headquarters, so that he would not remember being there at all. Apparently, his reaction to my…manipulations must have caused his mind to retreat into itself, to be brought back to consciousness by a trigger – in this case, you, Colonel."

Hogan frowned. "Why me?"

"Major Hochstetter has a very strong obsession with you, Colonel," Spock told him. "He is convinced you are behind all the sabotage in the area."

"We know," LeBeau mumbled, rolling his eyes.

Just then there was a moan from the cot where Newkirk lay, and all eyes turned in his direction. The Englishman shifted slightly, and let out another moan. Hogan walked over to him, followed by McCoy, who had been standing near the cot where Tiger and Kirk were sitting.

"Newkirk," Hogan uttered as he sat down on the edge of the cot. The corporal, who was still lying on his stomach, blinked his eyes open and started to roll over, when pain shot through his shoulder, and he let out another moan.

Hogan placed his hand on the back of the Englishman's uninjured shoulder. "Newkirk, stay still," he said; then looked at McCoy.

The doctor set his bag down, which he'd brought over with him, and began rummaging through it. He pulled out a hypospray and put it up to Newkirk's arm. "This should take care of the pain," he said, while pushing the plunger.

There was a hiss of air, just like the other times, and it was over. Hogan wondered briefly how it worked; then he looked at McCoy and asked, "Is that the same stuff you gave him before?"

McCoy shook his head. "No, what I gave him just now will help take the edge off; the stuff I gave him earlier was much stronger."

Carter nodded. "Boy, was it ever!"

Newkirk groaned and tried to push himself up with his uninjured arm. Hogan slid his arm under the corporal's waist and helped him to sit up. Once he was upright, Newkirk blinked and looked around the room groggily. "Are…are we back at camp?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, we are," Hogan replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Me shoulder's ruddy sore," answered Newkirk, wincing when he tried to move it. "Doesn't 'urt near as bad as before, though."

Hogan smiled slightly. "That's good to hear. Maybe we can get you back up to the barracks before Klink finds out you were missing, after all."

Newkirk glanced at his watch, and his eyes widened. "Blimey, it's after roll call, innit?" He looked at Hogan. "'Ow did you cover for me?"

"We didn't have to," Carter said, "Klink dismissed us before Schultz could give him his report. You should've seen it, boy!" Carter's voice began to escalate with excitement. "That SS Colonel from the lab showed up with Major Hochstetter, and the major was acting like he'd lost his mind! He kept saying the Colonel's name over and over – Colonel Hogan, that is, not the other colonel, and –"

Hogan held up his hand. "You can fill him in later," he cut in.

"Yes, sir," Carter replied.

Just then Kinch appeared in the doorway. He caught Hogan's eye, and the colonel got up and walked over to him. "Excuse us," Hogan said to the occupants of the room as he grabbed Kinch's arm and led him out into the tunnel. When he was sure they couldn't be overheard, Hogan asked, "What did you find out?"

Kinch stared at Hogan for a moment. Then he replied, "London's never heard of Captain Kirk, sir."

Hogan could tell there was more from the expression on Kinch's face. "Go on," he urged.

Kinch sighed. "They also said they checked with the American Intelligence liaison there, and he's never heard of him, either. In fact, he said they have no ONI personnel assigned anywhere near our area."

Hogan's eyes narrowed with suspicion. He gestured towards the room and said, "Then who are those people in there working for?"

Kinch shrugged and replied, "I have no idea."


	19. Stranger Than Fiction

A/N: Once again, I want to thank you all so much for your reviews! I'm glad so many of you are enjoying this story. :-) I'm out of town at the moment, but I can still update today (thank goodness for laptops!.) I should get a chance to update tomorrow, too, but I don't know yet when; whether it will be before we leave or after we get home. Just wanted to let you all know.

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: Stranger Than Fiction**

Hogan took a deep breath and walked back into the room, Kinch right behind him. He stopped in front of Kirk; eyeing him distrustfully. Then he folded his arms and stated, "I've just been informed that London has never heard of you, and apparently, neither has the ONI. That's it, Captain Kirk, or whoever you are, I'm through trusting you. I want the truth, and I want it right now!"

Kirk glanced around the room at his crew; then looked at Hogan and replied, "You're right, Colonel, we don't work for the ONI. That's why London has no knowledge of us. We work for a very top secret agency; only a handful of people know about it. I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you that we're on the same side, and I really am Captain James T. Kirk."

Hogan frowned. "That's not good enough."

"I'm afraid that's all I can tell you," Kirk replied. "You're just going to have to – "

"Trust you, I know," Hogan finished for him. "Well, I don't."

Kirk heaved a sigh. Then he smiled slightly and said, "Would you believe me if I told you we're from the future?"

Hogan rolled his eyes. "Now you're just being ridiculous!" he scoffed.

Kirk's expression grew serious. "Look, Colonel, at this point I don't care if you believe we're from Alpha Centauri! My crew and I are going to take care of Dr. Werner and his discovery, with or without your help. Now, which is it going to be?"

The two men glared at each other. Then Carter piped up, "Well, I think we can trust him, Colonel – after all, Captain Kirk did rescue us from SS headquarters."

"And he did save me life," Newkirk ventured to add.

"And Uhura did help me fix the radio," Kinch put in, glancing at her and tossing her a wink.

The men fell silent as another tense moment passed. At last Hogan relaxed his stance and let out a sigh. "All right, all right, we'll do this together. But I'm in charge of this operation, and I take my orders from London. If they want us to blow up the lab, then we're gonna blow up the lab, got it?"

Kirk nodded. "Whatever you say, Colonel."

Hogan turned to LeBeau. "Do you remember exactly where you found it?"

"Oui, Colonel. I can show you on the map in the radio room."

"All right," Hogan replied, "Why don't you go and mark on the map where the lab is? See if you can figure out an approximate distance to it from here." He then looked at his radioman. "Kinch, contact London, ask them if they still want us to destroy the lab with explosives."

"Yes, sir," LeBeau and Kinch both replied, and left the room.

"Carter," Hogan turned to him next, "How soon can you have the explosives ready?"

"I should have 'em ready by tonight, Colonel."

"Good. You can get started on that right away."

"Yes, sir," Carter responded, and followed the other two men out.

Hogan then set his gaze on his English Corporal. "Looks like you'll have to sit this one out, Newkirk."

Newkirk's face registered disappointment. "Colonel, I'm all right; me shoulder's a bit sore, is all. I can make it."

"I don't know…" Hogan's voice trailed off as he looked questioningly at McCoy.

McCoy reached into his bag and pulled out the medical scanner. He stepped over to Newkirk and ran it over his shoulder. After he checked the readings, he eyed the corporal thoughtfully for a moment; then he looked at Hogan. "Ordinarily I wouldn't recommend it," he said, "But his wound is healing quite rapidly, and if he rests today, he should be all right to go on the mission. He'll still need to take it easy on that shoulder, though."

"'Ere that? The Doc says I'll be right as rain by tonight!"

Hogan smirked. "That's not quite what I heard, Newkirk. But if Dr. McCoy thinks it's all right, then you can come – provided you rest today."

Yes, sir," Newkirk grinned.

Better do it up in the barracks though, just in case. You can use my quarters if you need to."

Newkirk nodded. "Yes, sir." He stood up slowly, moving his shoulder tentatively as he did so. It was definitely sore, but he wasn't experiencing the almost crippling pain he'd felt when they were trying to get back to camp. He knew he had McCoy to thank for that, and he shot him a quick glance. "Thanks, Doc, for fixin' me up," he said sincerely; then he left the room and headed for the main tunnel area; stopping there briefly to change back into his RAF uniform before ascending to the barracks.

When he'd gone, Hogan glanced around the room, his gaze coming to rest on Kirk. "We need a plan. Something that can get us close enough to the lab to set the explosives without getting caught." He glanced over at Tiger. "What was the security like outside the facility?"

"Tight, Colonel," she replied. "We never even got close to the building before they captured us."

"Colonel," Kirk said, "Mr. Spock and I need to get inside that building before you blow it up."

"That won't be easy," Tiger interjected, "My impression of Fischer, the SS Colonel in charge, is that he is not easily fooled."

Hogan looked at the uniform Kirk was still wearing, and said, "I think the Gestapo has worn out their welcome with Colonel Fisher." He thought for a moment. "What about an SS General? That should at least get you inside."

Kirk nodded thoughtfully. "That just might work. And Mr. Spock can be – "

"A sergeant?" Hogan cut in, giving Kirk a knowing look.

"Yes, a sergeant," Kirk repeated, looking at Hogan with mild suspicion – wondering just how much the colonel knew about Spock.

"Okay, we still need a diversion," Hogan said. "Something that will get the guards away from the building long enough for us to plant the explosives."

"Vut about another plane crash?" Chekov, who had sat down on the cot vacated by Newkirk, suggested.

"Maybe, but how could we…" Hogan frowned and looked at Kirk. "Don't tell me, let me guess; you can arrange that, can't you?"

"As a matter of fact…"

"That must be one hell of an organization you're from," Hogan cut in, muttering irritably.

Kirk just shrugged.

"All right," Hogan said, getting back into planning mode, "Say you crash a plane near the facility. You could get inside beforehand, and when it explodes, you could grab the doctor's discovery and get out in the ensuing chaos."

Kirk nodded. "And you and your men could place the explosives, and when the facility goes up – "

"They would blame it on the plane." Hogan finished. He smiled and said, "That's a good idea, Captain – if we can pull it off."

"Colonel, I'm sure we can," Kirk replied, grinning.

The two men stared at each other for a moment; their mutual respect rising. Then Hogan asked, "Are you sure you can get the plane?"

"Consider it done," Kirk said, and started to walk out of the room. When he reached the doorway he turned back and asked, "What time do you need it to crash, Colonel?"

Hogan glanced at his watch. "Let's make it 0100 hours."

"0100 hours it is," replied Kirk. Just as he turned to leave, Hogan added;

"You better check with LeBeau for the location."

Kirk nodded. "All right, Colonel," he replied; then disappeared into the tunnel.

Hogan took that moment to walk over and sit down next to Tiger. He took her hand in his and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm all right, Colonel Hogan," she responded. "I would like to come on the mission tonight."

Hogan shook his head. "No, you need to stay here and rest. You took a pretty bad hit to your head, you know."

Tiger smiled. "Somehow, I knew you would say that."

"Don't worry, Colonel," McCoy piped up, "I'll keep an eye on her."

A few minutes later Kirk came back and announced, "All set, Colonel. The plane will crash near the lab at precisely 0100 hours."

Hogan's eyes widened. "You set that up already? How…? Oh, never mind."

Kirk grinned.

"All right," Hogan said as he stood up. "We've all got work to do. Let's get busy."

* * *

As the day wore on, Hogan went over the plan with his men in his office, picking a time when Newkirk was awake. He was still a little hesitant to include the corporal, but Newkirk did seem to be feeling much better, and Hogan needed someone to act as lookout, while he, Carter and LeBeau placed the explosives.

Hogan also briefed Kinch on the plan; when the sergeant wasn't busy talking about radio equipment with Uhura. In fact, when Hogan had interrupted them, it sounded like their conversation wasn't so much about the radio, anymore.

All too quickly it seemed evening had arrived, and Hogan was getting a little anxious about the mission. He found that he did trust Captain Kirk and his crew, but strange things seemed to happen when they were around, and it was that unpredictability that was tying his gut in knots. He wasn't sure if he believed Kirk that Werner's discovery could affect the whole planet, but he did believe that whatever it was, it was dangerous, and they had to get it away from the Germans. If there was even a chance it could cause them to win the war, then Dr. Werner had to be stopped.

After the last roll call of the night, Hogan, Kinch, Newkirk, LeBeau and Carter headed down to the tunnel. Kinch took his place by the radio, while the rest of the men changed into guard uniforms – they wanted to blend in as much as possible. Kirk was already dressed as an SS General, and Spock was wearing a guard uniform, just like Hogan and his men.

Hogan noticed that Chekov was wearing a guard uniform, as well. He turned to Kirk and asked, "Is Ensign Chekov going into the building with you and Mr. Spock?"

"No, Colonel," Kirk replied, "Colonel Fischer might recognize him. I thought we could use an extra pair of eyes outside; he can watch the building for us, while Newkirk watches out for you and your men."

Hogan nodded. "All right. An extra pair of eyes couldn't hurt."

When they were all ready, it was time to head out. Carter picked up the bag with the explosives in it; then they climbed up the emergency exit – one at a time – and met up in the woods just beyond the searchlight. Then Hogan took the lead, and they set off for the lab.


	20. Out of the Bag

A/N: Thanks again for all your reviews! We just got back from our weekend trip; we made it home before the worst of the snowstorm is supposed to hit our area (thank goodness!) Anyway, here's chapter 20 - hope you enjoy it! :-)

**Chapter Twenty: Out of the Bag**

As the group neared the lab, Hogan stopped just before they came in sight of it. He checked his watch; it was almost half past midnight; time for Kirk and Spock to head towards the building, get inside, and keep Colonel Fischer busy until the plane crashed nearby. Then, in the confusion, they would find Werner's discovery and escape.

"All right," Hogan said, wanting to go over the plan quickly one last time, "Captain, once that plane crashes, Carter, LeBeau and I will go in and set the explosives. You and Mr. Spock will have approximately thirty minutes to find what you're looking for, and get out."

"Don't worry, we'll make it," Kirk assured him, and with that; he and Spock turned and headed for the facility.

Hogan watched them leave; silently wishing them good luck.

When Kirk and Spock neared the checkpoint set up in front of the facility, they were stopped by a couple of guards. Kirk puffed himself up and stated in his best authoritarian voice, "I am General von Kirkenheimer, here to see Colonel Fischer."

"Forgive me, Herr General," one of the guards replied suspiciously, "But, where is your car?"

Kirk raised his arm and pointed toward the road. "Down there about a mile or so. It ran out of gas, so we had to walk the rest of the way."

The guard raised his eyebrow. "You ran out of gas?"

"Yes," Kirk answered; then looked at Spock with annoyance. "Someone forgot to fill the tank before we left."

Spock attempted to look embarrassed, but instead, he only succeeded in making himself look ill.

"I see," the guard muttered, glancing at the stricken guard. Then he turned back to Kirk. "Still, isn't it a little late to be visiting Colonel Fischer?"

"Not when I'm conducting a surprise inspection!" Kirk shouted angrily.

The guard didn't flinch. "I will need to see your identification papers, Herr General," he said, holding out his hand.

Kirk reached into his pocket, nodding slightly at Spock to do the same. They handed their papers over to the guard, who scrutinized them closely. Then he gave them back and said, "Very well, Herr General, you may go inside."

Kirk silently thanked Newkirk's forgery skills; then nodded at the guard and strode purposely toward the building; Spock at his side. When they reached the door, they went inside, and Kirk told the guard at the entrance to take them to Colonel Fischer's office. This guard, seemingly more of a nervous type than his counterpart outside, hastily complied. He even knocked on Fischer's door, himself, and when he heard the colonel tell him to enter; he led Kirk and Spock inside.

Kirk immediately noticed the SS colonel who was sitting at his desk, hunched over a pile of papers. An image of Klink popped into his head, and he briefly wondered how the war was fought at all when everyone was so busy filling out paperwork.

After a few moments, when Fischer still hadn't acknowledged him, Kirk cleared his throat and said, "Colonel Fischer?"

Fischer looked up from his desk; surprised to see an SS General standing in front of him. He rose to his feet and said, "Yes, I'm Colonel Fischer. What can I do for you, General…?"

"General von Kirkenheimer," Kirk replied. "I am here to conduct a surprise inspection of the facility."

Fischer's eyes widened. "Now? At this hour?"

"Well, if you knew when I was coming, it wouldn't be a surprise," Kirk shot back.

"General, this is highly irregular – "

Kirk frowned. "Colonel, I am here to inspect this facility, with or without your cooperation. Now, which will it be?"

"Of course, General," replied Fischer, "You have my full cooperation. Where would you like to start?"

"How about the lab?" Kirk suggested, "I want to make sure Dr. Werner's discovery is being stored safely."

"The lab? Why, that's underground, three floors below this one. I can assure you, Dr. Werner's discovery is absolutely safe there."

"I'm sorry Colonel, but I need to see it for myself," Kirk stated matter-of-factly.

Suddenly they all heard a roaring noise coming from above. It grew to an almost deafening level, and was followed by the sound of an explosion close by. The floor actually shook, and the walls reverberated from the change in air pressure.

The guard who had shown Kirk and Spock to Fischer's office began to panic. He made a move for the door, but he tripped over his own feet and started to fall forward. As he did, he crashed into Spock, who had been standing just in front of him. Spock went down and the guard landed on top of him, sending the Vulcan's helmet flying across the floor.

"Sergeant Jung; get up immediately!" Fischer shouted, glancing at Kirk; hoping he wasn't going to get blamed for the sergeant's clumsiness.

"I…I'm sorry, Colonel," Jung replied sheepishly, rolling off of Spock and scrambling to his feet. He looked at Fischer and opened his mouth, about to apologize some more, when he noticed the SS Colonel staring, wide-eyed, at the man who was in the process of standing up. Jung followed his gaze, and his jaw dropped. "Wha…what?" was all he could manage to squeak out.

Fischer recovered a little faster. He opened the top drawer of his desk and reached in, pulling out a gun. Before Kirk or Spock could react, the Colonel was already aiming the gun at them. "I don't know who you are, or what," he said that last part looking at Spock, "But you are not in the SS!"

"Look, I can explain," Kirk said, but Fischer cut him off.

"There's nothing you can say that will explain him!" The colonel gestured to Spock; tilting his chin up slightly in the Vulcan's direction. Then he glanced at Jung and shouted, "Go and bring some more guards back here right away!"

"Jawohl, Herr Colonel," Jung replied and ran out of the room. He returned almost immediately with three more men, all of whom had their guns drawn.

"Search them!" Fischer ordered, pointing at Kirk and Spock.

Two of the guards re-holstered their weapons and proceeded to search the suspects. They found Kirk's communicator, both men's phasers, and Spock's tricorder. They set the items on Fischer's desk and, drawing their guns again, trained them on Kirk and Spock.

Fischer picked up the phaser and examined it closely. "What is this? Some sort of new type of listening device?"

"Not exactly," Kirk replied, watching nervously as Fischer handled the weapon.

Fischer set the phaser down and picked up the communicator. "What about this?"

"You're getting warmer," Kirk murmured.

Just then another guard appeared in the doorway. "Colonel Fischer, what are you doing in here? You have to leave the building immediately!"

"Why?" Fischer asked as he set the communicator back on the table.

"The explosion…You must have heard it!"

"Oh, yes," Fischer responded calmly. "What was that?"

"A plane crashed not far from the building. We have to evacuate right now!" the guard exclaimed.

Fischer eyed Kirk and Spock suspiciously. "I don't suppose you had anything to do with that, did you?"

"How could we, Colonel?" Kirk said innocently, "We're in here; enjoying your hospitality."

All of the guards were looking nervous by now. Between the explosion outside and the strange-looking man in the room, their nerves were beginning to get the best of them. Fischer noticed, and he said, "All right, you can leave the building – but first, I want these men handcuffed."

The two guards who had searched Kirk and Spock earlier each took out a set of handcuffs and slapped them on the prisoners' wrists behind their backs. Then they all ran out of the room, anxious to get away from the building, just in case.

Fischer leaned back against his desk and looked smugly at Kirk and Spock. "You know what I think, General von Kirkenheimer – or whatever your name is? I think you and your friend here are spies. I think you orchestrated that crash out there to infiltrate this facility and steal Dr. Werner's discovery. The only thing you hadn't counted on was one of my guards exposing your partner, here." He stared at Spock curiously for a moment. Then he cocked his head slightly and said, "What are you? You're obviously not a man."

"I am a Vulcan," Spock replied calmly.

Kirk shot Spock a warning glance.

"A Vulcan?" Fischer repeated, "What is that?"

"That's what they call people where he's from," Kirk piped up, "It's a small country in Asia – Vulcania. Don't tell me you've never heard of it?"

Fischer smiled. "You are very witty, General. Once the panic dies down from that explosion you caused, I will personally transport you both to my headquarters and interrogate you. Then we will see how witty you really are."

Kirk inwardly sighed. Judging by the clock on the wall behind Fischer, in about twenty minutes there would be a much bigger explosion if he and Spock didn't get free – one that would change the future of the human race forever.

* * *

Hogan and his men were watching from a safe distance when the plane hit. They waited a few minutes, until they saw the SS personnel exiting the facility in a panic; then Hogan, Carter and LeBeau took off, moving stealthily toward the building. Newkirk stayed where he was; scanning the vicinity, watching for any sign that the others might get caught. He was totally unprepared when suddenly he felt the business end of a gun being jabbed into his back.

"Turn around!" an angry voice demanded from behind him. Newkirk slowly turned around and found himself face to face with one of the guards from the checkpoint. "Who are you?" the man said, "What are you doing out here?"

"What, are you blind?" Newkirk decided to take the offensive, "Didn't you see that explosion? They're evacuating the building, that's what I'm doing out here!"

The guard's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "I know all the guards, and I don't recognize you," he stated.

Newkirk frowned. "I don't know how you could have missed me; I've been working here for three months!"

A smug grin formed on the guard's face. "This facility has only been open for two months."

"I like to get an early start," Newkirk quipped.

"You can tell it to Colonel Fischer." The guard flicked the end of his gun toward the building. "Get going!" he shouted.

Newkirk reluctantly complied. He walked toward the facility, his eyes frantically searching for Hogan or one of the others, hoping they would see what was happening. His hope dwindled rapidly as they approached the door, and by the time they went inside, Newkirk was inwardly beginning to panic.

The guard forced him to walk down a hallway; stopping him when they reached the door to Fischer's office. He opened the door and shoved Newkirk inside. The Englishman's eyes widened in alarm when he saw who was in there, and then he got a good look at Spock, and his jaw dropped. He stood there in shock for a few moments; then blurted out the first thing that popped into his head.

"Bloody 'ell!"


	21. Tempus Fugit

**Chapter Twenty-One: Tempus Fugit**

While Kirk and Spock had initially headed for the check point and the building beyond, Chekov had circled around and taken up a position where he had a clear view of the entrance to the facility. He hid himself behind a thick stand of bushes, and watched as Kirk and Spock successfully made it through the check point and entered the building. Soon after that, he heard the roar of a plane overhead, and saw it crash just beyond the facility on the other side. It didn't take long before there was an exodus out of the building; SS officers and enlisted men leaving in droves.

He watched and waited, hoping to see Kirk and Spock join the evacuation soon, when he noticed two men heading towards the facility, instead of away from it. He squinted a little, and suddenly recognized one of the men – it was Newkirk! The other man, an SS guard, had Newkirk at gunpoint, and was forcing him to enter the building.

Chekov had a sinking feeling that something had gone wrong, and Kirk and Spock might be in trouble, too. The thought flashed through his mind of running in to rescue them, but he knew it would be better to have help on this one. He rose up from behind the thick bushes where he was hiding, and quickly and quietly made his way to the rendezvous point.

* * *

Hogan, Carter, and LeBeau finished placing the explosives, and met up at the corner of the building. No one had paid any attention to them, which was what they'd been hoping for. They headed for the rendezvous point, wondering if Kirk and Spock had found Werner's discovery and were waiting for them there. But when they arrived, they didn't see anyone; no Kirk, no Spock, no Chekov…and no Newkirk.

"Where's Newkirk?" Hogan asked out loud, glancing around the immediate vicinity.

"He should be here, Colonel," LeBeau replied, "I'm sure this is where we left him."

Just then they heard footsteps approaching quickly through the forest, and Chekov ran up. "Colonel Hogan," he panted, trying to catch his breath, "Newkirk, he…he vas captured by a guard and…taken into the building!"

"What?" Carter exclaimed. "Colonel, we have to get him out of there! The building's gonna blow in fifteen minutes!"

"Don't worry, Carter, we will," Hogan replied. He turned to Chekov. "Where's Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock?"

"They haven't come out of the building, yet, sir. I think they may be in trouble, too."

"Damn!" Hogan muttered under his breath. He thought for a moment, and then said, "Okay, there can't be too many people left in there. Maybe if we go in with our guns drawn, we can take 'em by surprise."

LeBeau nodded. "That could work."

"I'm coming vith you," Chekov stated.

Hogan smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that."

* * *

Newkirk stared at Spock, trying to comprehend what he was seeing. It wasn't just the pointed ears, it was that faint greenish glow of his complexion that he couldn't seem to wrap his brain around. The man didn't look, well, human.

It took Newkirk several moments to realize Fischer was talking to him, and he finally turned his head to look at the SS colonel. "What?" he uttered.

"I said; you needn't look so shocked, I know you're all working together," Fischer repeated. "That's why my guard found you outside, wasn't it? You were keeping a lookout for your fellow spies, here."

Fischer had spoken to him in English, and Newkirk, still in shock and not thinking clearly, responded in kind. "No, sir, I 'eard the explosion outside, and I was just tryin' to get away, is all."

"I see," Fischer responded, staring at Newkirk's uniform, "Since when did the SS start recruiting Englanders?"

Newkirk's eyes flashed with surprise; then he opened his mouth to reply, but Kirk cut him off.

"Colonel, it doesn't really matter if he's working with me or not. The truth is; we're all going to die in less than fifteen minutes unless you let us go."

Fischer smiled. "Is that so, General? Don't tell me you are planning to have another plane crash; perhaps into the building this time? Oh, but then you wouldn't have time to steal Dr. Werner's discovery, would you?"

"If you don't let us go, there won't be anything left to steal…or anything else left, for that matter," Kirk replied cryptically.

"You really expect me to believe that, don't you?" Fischer smiled slightly. "Well then, let's all wait here for fifteen minutes, and see if you are correct."

Kirk shot a glance at Spock; then at Newkirk, who was staring at the Vulcan again with a bewildered look on his face. Kirk was thinking furiously, wondering what they could do to get out of their current predicament, when all of a sudden there came the sound of footsteps from the hall, and four men ran into the room. Before Fischer and the guard could react, the men had their guns pointed at them. "Drop your weapons!" Hogan barked, and the two SS men complied.

Kirk breathed a sigh of relief. "Colonel, your timing is impeccable," he said to Hogan.

Hogan smiled and was about to reply, when he looked at Spock and did a double-take. He'd already seen the lieutenant without his helmet before, but here in Fischer's office, under the glare of the lights, Spock looked even more alien. He blinked and forced himself to look away, and that's when he caught a glimpse of Carter and LeBeau's faces. They appeared to be mesmerized by Spock's appearance; staring at him, unblinking.

The guard noticed the men were preoccupied, and took that opportunity to snatch the gun out of the nearest man's hand, which happened to be Carter. The guard was still standing behind Newkirk and, with one fluid motion, grabbed the corporal's arm and pulled him backwards, up against himself, while simultaneously putting the gun to Newkirk's head.

Newkirk cried out; the arm the guard had grabbed was on the side of his injured shoulder. That brought the others out of their paralysis, and LeBeau and Chekov turned their guns towards the guard, while Hogan kept Fischer covered. The guard yanked Newkirk's arm roughly behind his back, and white hot pain shot through the Englishman's shoulder, forcing a loud moan from him.

"You drop _your_ weapons!" the guard shouted, twisting Newkirk's arm harder and pressing the gun tightly up against the corporal's temple.

Newkirk yelped; then grit his teeth and muttered, "Don't worry about me, mates; get out of 'ere while you can!"

"Not without you!" Carter exclaimed.

"You'd better do as Sergeant Meier says," Fischer said, a smug grin on his face, "He won't hesitate to kill your man."

Chekov, who was standing between the desk and Kirk, heard the captain clear his throat quietly. He spared a quick glance at him, and saw the gleam in the man's eye. Chekov nodded almost imperceptibly; then looked back at Meier and readied himself.

Kirk suddenly let out a moan and began falling to the floor, as if in a dead faint. The movement caught Meier's attention, and he instinctively turned the gun that was aimed at Newkirk's head in Kirk's direction. Chekov leaped for the desk and grabbed one of the phasers, and before Meier could react, the Ensign brought it up and fired it at him. It hit Newkirk as well, and both men slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Hogan, Carter, and LeBeau stared in shock. Fischer, too, was gazing at the men on the floor uncomprehendingly. Hogan pulled himself together quickly and looked at Chekov. "What did you do?" he demanded.

"Don't vorry, they are fine," Chekov tried to reassure him. "They are only unconscious. I couldn't stun the guard vithout stunning Newkirk, too."

"You…stunned them?" Hogan asked, incredulously, "With that?" He pointed to the device in Chekov's hand.

Chekov nodded. Then he looked at Kirk and said, "Keptain, there is still time."

"Get the keys to our handcuffs," Kirk said; then looked at Hogan while Chekov went to search the unconscious guard. "I'll explain later," he told the colonel, who was looking at him warily. "Right now you and your men need to get out of here."

"Not until you tell me exactly what you did to Newkirk," Hogan stated stubbornly.

Chekov found the keys and stepped behind Kirk, unlocking the handcuffs from his wrists, then did the same for Spock. The two freed men walked over to the desk and quickly snatched up their equipment.

Kirk looked at Hogan and said, "Look, I don't have time to argue, or explain. You need to get your men out of here. We only have…" he glanced over at Carter, "How much longer until those explosives go off?"

Carter, didn't say anything at first, still trying to get over his shock. At last he realized Kirk had asked him a question, and he shook his head and replied, "What, sir?"

"How long until this place blows up?" Kirk asked again.

"Oh, uh…" Carter glanced at his watch, "Nine minutes, Captain."

Kirk nodded at looked back at Hogan. "Nine minutes, Colonel."

Hogan's brow furrowed. "What about you?"

"Spock and I still need to find Dr. Werner and his discovery. The rest of you have to get out of here, now!"

"Wait, what about me?" Fischer piped up, having finally grasped that the building was indeed about to go up in flames.

Hogan hesitated a moment; then he said, "We'll take you with us. You can spend the rest of the war in an English POW camp."

"What? Never!" Fischer exclaimed.

Hogan shrugged. "Fine by me; you can stay here, then."

Fischer's eyes widened. "No, that's all right…an English POW camp is more than adequate."

Hogan nodded. "I thought you'd say that." He held his hand out to Chekov. "I'll take those handcuffs, if you don't mind."

Chekov grinned. "Of course, Colonel, here," he dropped them into Hogan's hand.

Hogan walked over and slapped one set of cuffs on Fischer. Then he moved to the guard on the floor and handcuffed him, as well. He looked at his men and said, "LeBeau, cover Colonel Fischer. Carter, help me get Newkirk up; I'll carry him out."

Carter came over and helped lift Newkirk; then Hogan leaned down and, grabbing the corporal around the middle, hoisted him over his shoulder. He glanced at Meier and then back to Carter. "Can you handle the guard?" he asked his sergeant.

"Not by myself, sir," Carter replied, studying the man who was still lying on the floor. Sergeant Meier wasn't overly tall, but he was a stocky man, which would make him heavier.

"Chekov, why don't you help Carter carry the guard out of here?" Kirk told his ensign.

Chekov looked at him questioningly. "But, Keptain, I can't leave you and Mr. Spock –"

"That's an order, Mr. Chekov," Kirk cut in. When he saw the distress on his Russian navigator's face, he added reassuringly, "Don't worry, we'll make it out of here in time."

Chekov hesitated for a moment; then he sighed and slowly nodded. "All right, sir," he replied. He went over to Meier; on the other side of where Carter was, and, with both of them working together, they were able to lift the guard.

"All right, go on," Kirk said, nodding at them. They carried Meier out the door; Chekov throwing Kirk one last worried glance. Hogan nodded at LeBeau, who waved his gun at Fischer. They followed Carter and Chekov out; LeBeau keeping his gun aimed at the SS Colonel's back. Hogan, carrying Newkirk, went last, sparing a glance at Kirk. The look in his eyes contained respect – and something else he hadn't given the Captain before – complete trust. Then he was gone.

Kirk looked at Spock and said, "We better get going…we have less than ten minutes."

Spock nodded slightly. "Then I would surmise we have no time to waste."

Kirk inwardly rolled his eyes. Then he headed for the door, muttering, "You took the words right out of my mouth."


	22. Finding Doctor Werner

A/N: There's a bit of a surprise in this chapter. Hope you like it! :-)

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Finding Doctor Werner **

Hogan's party made their way out of the building and across the grounds; coming to rest at last in the woods a safe distance from the building when it blew up. Carter and Chekov set the unconscious guard on the ground; then Carter went over to help Hogan lay Newkirk down, as well. LeBeau led Fischer over to a nearby tree stump and ordered him to sit down. Hogan came over to relieve the Frenchman, directing him to keep an eye on the guard, while Carter knelt down next to Newkirk.

After a few moments Hogan turned his head briefly to look in Carter and Newkirk's direction and asked, "How is he?"

"Still unconscious, sir," Carter replied. He looked up at Chekov, who had his eyes on the entrance to the building, and said, "How long is he gonna be out, anyway?"

"He should come to anytime now," Chekov informed him. Sure enough, as soon as the words had left his mouth, Newkirk shifted a little and let out a moan.

Carter placed his hand on the Englishman's non-injured shoulder. "How are you feeling, buddy?" he asked.

Newkirk opened his eyes, blinking them a few times. He focused on Carter, and muttered, "Blimey…what 'appened?"

"You got knocked out," Carter told him. "But you're safe now. We got you out of that building."

Newkirk turned his head slightly and glanced around. "'Ow did I get out 'ere?"

Carter grinned. "The Colonel carried you,"

"He did?" Newkirk looked over to where Hogan was guarding Fischer. "You did, sir?"

"Yes, I did," Hogan replied, "And you're not so light, either. I think you better lay off LeBeau's cooking for a while."

Newkirk smirked at him; then glanced around and asked, "What about Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock? Did they make it out, too?"

"They'll be here soon," Hogan said, "We just have to stay here and wait for them."

Newkirk glanced at Chekov, who was studiously watching the building. "Blimey, I 'ope they make it in time," he uttered.

"They'll make it," Chekov replied determinedly, "They have to."

* * *

Once everyone had gone, Kirk and Spock left Colonel Fischer's office and headed for the first stairway they could find. After a few false attempts down a couple of hallways, they finally found one and proceeded to climb down to the third floor below. Spock took out his tricorder and swept the area; then pointed in the direction where the anti-matter was being kept. They made their way quietly along a short hall, stopping when they got to the door at the end. Kirk reached out and turned the knob and, to his surprise, found the door unlocked.

Kirk slowly opened the door; then he stepped into the small room, followed closely by Spock. They glanced around in the dimly lit interior, and as their eyes adjusted, they could make out something at the far end. They headed towards it, and when they got there, realized what it was – the anti-matter. Kirk turned to the Vulcan and said, "Mr. Spock, I believe we've found what we came for."

Spock checked the readings on the tricorder. "Captain, I must concur," he replied, nodding slightly.

A side door opened just then, and a figure walked out. He was dressed in civilian attire, including a brown overcoat and gloves, and had a wide-brimmed hat on, pulled low over his head.

"Dr. Werner, I presume?" Kirk asked, assuming the man was the elusive scientist.

"Yes, I am Werner," the man answered; then he looked up at what he thought was an SS general. As his eyes reached the general's face, they widened in recognition. "Captain Kirk!" he blurted out, "What…How…?"

Quick as a flash, Kirk reached out and pulled the hat off Werner's head. "Captain Koloth! (1) What…How…?"

"Fascinating," Spock commented.

Kirk and Koloth stared at each other for a few moments. At last the Klingon managed to stammer out, "What…are you doing here?"

"What am_ I_ doing here? What are _you_ doing here?" Kirk countered. "How did you get here? What are you doing with this anti-matter?"

Koloth frowned. "I don't have to tell you anything, Captain_._ You have no jurisdiction here."

Spock pulled out his phaser and pointed it at him.

"All right, all right!" Koloth exclaimed. "You don't have to get testy; I'll tell you."

"Make it fast," Kirk said, glancing at his watch, "This place is going to explode in five minutes."

Koloth's eyes popped wide. "It is? But, the anti-matter – "

"Is going to destroy the planet, I know," Kirk interrupted, "So you better start talking."

"Very well, Captain. After you transported all of those tribbles onto our ship, my crew mutinied. They blamed me for it, and decided to beam me down to a deserted planet – along with the tribbles. They left me with enough supplies for two of your Earth months, and said they'd come back and pick me up then."

Koloth paused, and Kirk said, "That doesn't explain what you're doing here."

Koloth scowled at him; then continued. "I had to get away from the spot where they left me; those horrible, fuzzy things were everywhere, hissing and screeching…" He visibly shuddered. "While I was walking, I found a strange machine…a gateway to the past."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "The Guardian of Forever." (2)

Koloth nodded. "Yes, that's it. Anyway, I watched it show me Earth history, and when it got to your second World War, I decided I would go back in time and help the Nazis." He leaned in a little and muttered, "They should have won, you know."

Kirk stared at him disgustedly. "So, you thought you could change Earth's history, did you? Tell me, how were you going to get back to our time?"

Koloth shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I hadn't actually thought that far ahead."

"And the anti-matter? Where did you get that?"

"I snuck some from the ship before they beamed me down. I thought; if they didn't come back…"

Kirk's eyes widened. "You were going to destroy yourself?"

"What else could I do?" Koloth exclaimed. "I couldn't stay there forever with those, those tribbles!"

"Captain, we have two minutes," Spock announced coolly.

"All right, Mr. Spock," Kirk said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his communicator. After flipping it open, he said, "Kirk to Enterprise."

"_Enterprise, Scott here."_

"Scotty, three to beam up, on my signal."

"_Aye, Captain."_

Kirk looked at Koloth; then pointed at the insulated case containing the anti-matter. "If you want to come with us, you better bring that."

Koloth snorted. "What makes you think I want to come with you?"

"One minute," Spock said.

"All right, all right!" Koloth walked over and picked up the container. Then he moved back over to where he'd been standing.

"Beam us up, Scotty," Kirk said into the communicator.

There was a shimmer of light as the transporter caught the three of them, and then they were gone.

Five seconds later, there was a tremendous explosion, and the building blew sky high. Carter's explosives were early.

* * *

"Do you see 'em, yet?" Carter asked Chekov, who was still watching the front of the building from where they were, hoping to see Kirk and Spock come out any second.

"Nyet," Chekov replied, his voice belying his calm demeanor.

"Don't worry, buddy, I'm sure they'll make it," Carter said, trying to reassure him.

Chekov nodded absently. "How much time is left?" he asked without turning around.

Carter glanced at his watch and winced. "Two minutes."

Chekov let out a small sigh, and kept his eyes peeled for any sign of Kirk and Spock. After a few moments he asked, "Now how much longer?"

Carter checked again and replied in a much more subdued voice, "One minute."

"They can still make it," Chekov muttered, more to himself. "Come on, Keptain, Mr. Spock, you can – "

He was cut off as the building exploded, sending flames and debris shooting into the night sky. Chekov stared, too stunned to move. He felt a hand land on his shoulder and he turned to see Hogan standing next to him.

"I'm sorry," Hogan said, and Chekov could hear the sincerity in the colonel's voice.

"Thank you, Colonel," Chekov replied; then his brow furrowed as he thought furiously for a moment. A smile suddenly formed on his face. "But it's not necessary. They made it out in time."

"They did?" Carter piped up behind Hogan, "But, you never saw them come out."

"They must have found another vay." Chekov remembered that Kirk had his communicator; no doubt the Captain probably had himself and Spock beamed aboard the ship.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Hogan asked curiously.

"Because ve are still here," Chekov replied. "That means they found Dr. Werner's discovery, and made it out before the building blew up."

"That's right!" Carter exclaimed, "They said if that discovery blew up, it would destroy the whole planet!"

Newkirk, who had gotten to his feet and was standing near Carter, said, "Well then, if they made it out of there, where are they?"

"They vill show up soon," Chekov stated with surety; then turned to Hogan. "In the meantime, Colonel, ve can start back to camp, if you vant to. I'm sure they vill catch up."

Hogan nodded. "All right." He turned to Fischer. "On your feet," he snapped. Then he pointed to the SS guard who had regained consciousness a few minutes ago and said, "Carter, LeBeau, help him up. And keep an eye on him."

"Yes sir," replied Carter.

"Oui, mon Colonel," LeBeau responded.

When everyone was ready, Hogan started back to camp, keeping a solid grip on Fischer's arm. LeBeau and Carter watched the guard, and Newkirk followed behind them. Chekov took up the rear, glancing back every so often, wondering if Kirk and Spock were going to materialize nearby and join them.

As they were nearing the tree stump, Hogan heard a noise off to his right, and stopped; holding up his hand to signal the men behind him to do likewise. The noise came closer, and Hogan recognized the sound of footsteps. He aimed his gun in the direction they were approaching from and waited.

Just then, two men walked into view, and Hogan immediately relaxed; it was Kirk and Spock! "Aren't you two a sight for sore eyes!" he said; then he frowned and asked, "Wait…how did you get here before us?"

"We walk fast," Kirk replied with a grin.

Hogan shook his head and smiled back. "Glad you made it."

"Keptain! Mr. Spock!" Chekov called out quietly, moving up to where they were standing. "You made it!"

"Yes, we did, Mr. Chekov," Kirk said.

"Keptain, vut happened back there – "

Kirk held up his hand, cutting him off. "I'll tell you later."

"I'd like to hear about that, too," Hogan said.

Kirk sighed. "All right, Colonel, but, in the meantime, shouldn't we be getting below?"

"You're right, Captain," Hogan replied; then gestured towards the hollow tree stump, "After you."

Kirk smiled and turned toward the stump. He'd barely taken a step, when he heard Hogan mutter, "And maybe when we get down there, you can explain Mr. Spock, too."

Kirk sighed again, wishing he'd stayed on the ship.

* * *

A/N: I have no idea how anti-matter would be transported, so I'm assuming it would be kept in some sort of insulated case; similar to how radio-active material is transported.

(1) Captain Koloth was the Captain of the Klingon battle cruiser in the Star Trek episode_, The Trouble with Tribbles, _season two.

(2) The "Guardian of Forever" is from the Star Trek episode, _The City on the Edge of Forever,_ season one.


	23. Believe It  Or Not

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Believe It – Or Not**

After they got below, Hogan directed LeBeau to take Newkirk to the room just off the emergency exit and have McCoy examine his shoulder. The Englishman was obviously in pain again after the guard had wrenched his arm behind him earlier. Kirk and his men also headed for the back room, while Hogan and Carter brought Fischer and Meier into the main tunnel area. As they entered the large underground room, Hogan noticed Kinch sitting at the radio, Uhura leaning against the table next to him. She had her hand on Kinch's shoulder, and they appeared to be having an intimate conversation.

When Kinch saw Hogan and Carter coming into the room, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Colonel, I'm glad you made it back," he said; then paused, glancing at Fischer and the guard, "And I see you brought company."

Hogan nodded. "Kinch, give London a call, tell 'em we have two SS guests to send their way; find out how soon they can arrange a pick-up."

"Yes, sir," Kinch replied. He put on the headphones that were resting around his neck and turned to the radio.

Hogan then turned to his sergeant. "Carter, go fetch a couple of chairs for Colonel Fischer and Sergeant Meier; and grab some rope, too, while you're at it."

"Yes, sir," Carter called out, already moving toward the side tunnel where they kept some extra chairs. He brought them back with some rope he found, and after Hogan removed the handcuffs from the two SS men and directed them to sit down, he and Hogan tied them to the chairs.

By then, Kinch had received word from London. "Colonel, they can send a sub tomorrow night," he informed Hogan.

"Good," Hogan replied. He heard footsteps, and turned his head toward the tunnel that led to the emergency exit. LeBeau appeared, and walked into the room.

"How's Newkirk?" Hogan asked.

"Dr. McCoy said his shoulder will be fine," LeBeau replied, "I thought you would like to know, mon Colonel; Tiger is doing much better, too."

Hogan nodded, looking relieved.

LeBeau glanced at Uhura, "Pardon mademoiselle, but Captain Kirk told me to tell you it's time to leave."

"Already?" Uhura replied, disappointedly. She glanced at Kinch, who didn't look too happy about it, either.

Hogan noticed, and said, "I need to speak with Captain Kirk before he goes. Why don't you two take a few minutes to say goodbye? I'm sure the Captain won't mind." He flashed them a knowing grin and headed for the tunnel that led to the back room. "Carter, LeBeau, you're with me," he added, glancing in their direction.

When they'd gone, Kinch stood up and took Uhura's hand in his, "Will I ever see you again?" he asked, gazing into her eyes.

She slowly shook her head. "I'm afraid not."

Kinch nodded in understanding. "Then I guess we'll have to make the most of the few minutes we have left," he replied softly, and leaned in to kiss her.

She circled her arms around his neck and kissed him back, wondering briefly what it would be like if he could come with her. As she felt his strong arms embrace her, she found herself more than a little disappointed that she would never find out.

* * *

Hogan reached the back room and entered; Carter and LeBeau right behind him. He glanced at Tiger, who was sitting up on the cot, looking much more alert. As he walked over to her, he gave her a big smile, and she smiled back. "How are you feeling?" he asked, laying his hand gently on her shoulder.

"Much better, Colonel," Tiger replied. "I am glad the mission was successful."

Hogan nodded. "So am I." He turned to look at Kirk, who was eyeing him expectantly. "All right," Hogan said, "Suppose you fill me in on what happened back at the lab?"

Kirk shrugged. "There's not much to tell, really. Mr. Spock and I found Dr. Werner and his discovery, and we managed to get out of the building through a side door. We made it to safety just before Carter's explosives went off."

"I see," Hogan replied. "So, where is Dr. Werner?"

"We, uh, got rid of him. We didn't want to give him the chance to endanger the planet again."

Hogan's eyebrows rose. "You killed him?"

"Not exactly…"

"Then what, exactly?"

"Don't worry, Colonel. No one will ever find him; not where he's going."

Hogan heaved a sigh. "And the discovery he made? I take it no one's gong to find that, either…"

"You are correct, sir," Spock piped up.

Hogan scrutinized Kirk for a moment. "I don't suppose you're ever going to tell me exactly what happened, are you?"

Kirk smiled slightly. "Sorry, it's classified."

"Uh, huh. Well, can you at least explain him?" He pointed at Spock, who was once again wearing his helmet.

"Mr. Spock? He's my science officer," Kirk replied innocently.

Hogan folded his arms and scowled at him.

Kirk let out a sigh. "Would you believe he was born that way?"

Hogan kept staring at him.

"All right, Colonel, the truth is, he's an alien from the planet Vulcan. We're from the future, and I'm the Captain of a starship that flies through space; the U.S.S. Enterprise."

For several moments there was complete silence. Then the room erupted in laughter, coming from Hogan, his men, and Tiger. McCoy and Chekov joined in, and even Kirk couldn't hold out; he began to chuckle loudly.

As the laughter died down, Hogan held up his hand and said, "Okay, I give up. You don't have to tell me." He leaned forward slightly and added, "But when the war is over, I may just call in a few favors, and do a little snooping around on my own."

Kirk smiled. "Be my guest, Colonel." He looked at his crew and said, "Well, I think it's time for us to get back to where we belong," He glanced around and asked, "Where's Uhura?"

"Here, sir," Uhura replied, walking into the room.

Kirk nodded. He turned to Hogan and held out his hand. "It's been a pleasure, Colonel Hogan."

Hogan reached up and, with a slight smirk on his face, grabbed Kirk's hand, shaking it firmly. "It's been interesting, Captain Kirk." Then his face grew serious. "Thanks, for all your help," he added, sincerely.

"Don't mention it, Colonel," Kirk replied, "You helped us out more than you'll ever know."

The two men dropped their hands. "Don't worry, Colonel, we can see ourselves out," Kirk said; then he glanced at his crew. "Let's go."

The men said their goodbyes; Chekov quickly shaking hands with Carter, LeBeau and Newkirk. Hogan thanked McCoy one more time for his help, and Tiger stood up and gave Kirk a farewell kiss on both cheeks. Hogan bristled slightly; but, since he knew the captain was leaving, he decided to let it go.

Kirk led his crew out of the room, and – one at a time – they climbed up and disappeared through the emergency exit. When they were gone, Hogan sat down heavily on the cot next to Tiger. "Well, I'm glad _that's_ over!" he exclaimed tiredly.

"Well, I'm gonna miss them, Colonel," Carter said, "It was nice having them around to help." His eyes grew wide with excitement. "Just think what it would be like if they were here all the time!"

Hogan glanced at Tiger and murmured, "I'm trying not to."

"Colonel," Newkirk piped up, "What are we goin' to do about Klink? He's still in hot water with Burkhalter over the Russian pilot missin'; isn't he?"

Hogan nodded thoughtfully. Then he inadvertently yawned and said, "We'll think of something. In the meantime, let's get some rest…these past few days have been exhausting!"

The men all nodded in agreement. As they filed out of the room, Hogan turned to Tiger and said, "I hate to leave you here all alone."

Tiger smiled. "I'll be fine, Colonel. You better go get some sleep; you do look exhausted."

"Is it that obvious?" Hogan grinned. Then he swept her into his arms and kissed her passionately. He felt her respond, and his jealousy abated at last.

After a few moments, Hogan reluctantly pulled away. He stood up to let Tiger lie down, and covered her with a blanket. Then he leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight," he said softly.

"Goodnight, mon amour," Tiger whispered back, and closed her eyes.

Hogan watched her for a moment; then he headed out of the room, and up to the barracks.

* * *

Once Kirk and his crew were a safe distance from the camp, Kirk pulled out his communicator. "Kirk to Enterprise," he said as he flipped it open.

"_Enterprise, Scott here."_

"Scotty, five to beam up."

"_Aye, aye, sir."_

The air seemed to shimmer, and then they were in the transporter room. Kirk glanced around him and said, "Everyone to the briefing room." Then he walked up to the wall communicator and called Mr. Scott, informing him he was to attend the briefing, as well.

As soon as they got there, they all took their seats and looked at the captain expectantly. Kirk proceeded to relate what happened at the lab, and who they had in the brig at that very moment. All eyes widened with shock; with the exception of Spock and Mr. Scott.

"I must say, Captain, I was surprised when you and Mr. Spock brought Captain Koloth aboard. I never thought we'd see the likes of him again," Scott said.

"Yeah, well, that stunt you pulled – transporting all those tribbles onto his ship – is what caused this mess in the first place!" Kirk exclaimed tersely.

Scott's expression immediately turned apologetic. "Captain, if I'd 'ave known…" he replied sheepishly.

McCoy frowned. "Now, don't go blaming this entire thing on Mr. Scott, Jim…it wasn't just his idea."

Kirk eyed McCoy with irritation. "Trust me, Bones; I'm not just blaming him."

The room grew silent for a few moments; everyone looking properly chastised. Then Kirk said, "Next time you consider doing something like that – don't. Understood?"

Several mumbles of, "Yes, sir," were heard around the large table.

Kirk nodded. "All right, everyone to your stations…." he glanced around the room and added, "Most of you might want to change into your uniforms, first." As they got up to leave, Kirk looked at his first officer and said, "Spock, I need to make a recording before we leave; something we can bury underneath the ice at the South Pole."

"Are you referring to the message that you left here to contact yourself in the future, Captain?" Spock asked.

"Yes, Spock." Kirk looked at him somewhat embarrassed. "Do you remember what I said?"

"Captain, I believe we still have a copy of that message on the ship's computer."

Kirk smiled wide. "Mr. Spock, you're a genius!"

Spock raised an eyebrow. "I _do_ possess a rather high IQ."

A smirk formed on Kirk's face. "Too bad that doesn't include modesty."

"Sir?"

"Never mind, Mr. Spock."

When Kirk and Spock arrived on the bridge, the Vulcan pulled up the transmission for the Captain. As Kirk was preparing to re-record it, Chekov piped up from his navigation console, "But, Captain, how do ve know that you in the future vill believe it?"

Spock looked at Chekov and replied, "We know that he will, because we are, in fact, here."

Chekov furrowed his brow in confusion. "But this is the first time ve have come."

"Not necessarily; we received the message before we came to this time period."

Ckekov shot Spock a bewildered look. "So, we've already been here?"

Kirk shook his head. "Forget it, Ensign." He then proceeded to record the message onto one of their transmitting devices, and had the timer set to go off at precisely the moment he'd received it the first time. Then they transported it deep underneath the ice at the South Pole, and warped out of orbit. Mr. Spock once again gave the calculations to Mr. Scott, and, after another trip around the sun, they were home.

* * *

"Colonel, wake up," LeBeau said, shaking Hogan's shoulder gently, "It's almost time for roll call."

Hogan groaned and blinked his eyes open, wondering briefly if he'd ever get any sleep in this war. "I'm up, LeBeau," he said, sitting up on his bunk, and then jumping down to the floor. He got dressed quickly and headed out to the main barracks.

Schultz came in a few minutes later, shouting at the prisoners to get outside. The men shuffled out of the barracks and lined up. Schultz counted them, like always, and was pleased to find everyone there.

A short time later Klink walked out of the Kommandantur, and headed over to the line of prisoners. After Schultz's report, he dismissed the men and walked over to Hogan; a smile on his face. Curious, Hogan commented, "You seem to be in a good mood this morning, sir."

"I am, Hogan. I received a call from General Burkhalter. He told me they think they know what happened to that Russian pilot."

"They do?" Hogan asked interestedly.

"Yes, Hogan. Apparently a building was destroyed last night; they believe it was sabotage."

"No!" Hogan exclaimed.

"Yes!" Klink nodded vigorously. "They think that Colonel Kirkmeyer and his sergeant had something to do with it."

"Really?"

"Not only that, but they think the Russian pilot was a diversion." Klink paused and smiled with glee. "You know what this means, don't you, Hogan?"

"No, what, Kommandant?"

"It means I'm off the hook! Isn't that wonderful?"

"That's great, sir," Hogan agreed. "I guess you won't be reassigning any of the guards now; what with the lab being gone…"

"That's right," Klink happily agreed; then he suddenly frowned. "Wait, Hogan, how did you know it was a lab that was destroyed…?"

"Lucky guess," Hogan replied. Then he turned and walked to the barracks, leaving a befuddled Klink staring after him.

When Hogan got inside, he told his men the good news. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; then Kinch said, "Looks like everything's back to normal, Colonel."

"Looks that way," Hogan uttered.

"Colonel," Newkirk said, "You don't suppose there's any chance Captain Kirk was tellin' the truth, do you? I mean, about bein' from the future and all…"

Hogan shook his head. "No, I don't see how he could be. Time travel isn't possible." He thought back to all the strange things that had happened over the course of the last several days, and couldn't help murmuring, "Still, that _would_ explain a few things."

"Well, I hope they come back again someday," Carter piped up, "I liked working with them."

"You would," LeBeau replied sarcastically.

"I wouldn't mind seeing them again, either," Kinch commented.

Newkirk smirked at Kinch. "Especially that bird they 'ad with 'em, right, mate?"

Kinch flashed him a lopsided grin.

Carter looked at Hogan. "What about you, sir? Wouldn't you like to work with Captain Kirk again?"

"I think once was enough," Hogan replied. "Besides," he added, "If they really are from the future, why would they want to come back here? They've got all the time in the world."

THE END

* * *

A/N: Thank you all so much for sticking with this story, and for your wonderful reviews! I really appreciate it! :-) I do have an epilogue to add, which I hope to have finished by the weekend. I'm thrilled that so many of you enjoyed this story! I had a great time writing it. :-)


	24. Epilogue

A/N: Okay, here's the epilogue (finally!) LOL It's not supposed to be taken too seriously; it's just a silly, sort of AU ending I came up with that, hopefully, you will find funny. Enjoy! :-)

* * *

**Epilogue**

Later that night, Hogan went down into the tunnel, and saw Kinch manning the radio. He glanced around and asked, "Did Colonel Fischer and that SS guard get out of here all right?"

Kinch slid his headphones off and nodded. "Yes, sir, Fritz and Gunter from the Underground picked them up. They should be rendezvousing with the sub right now."

"Good," Hogan replied.

"Oh, and Gunter heard from Tiger; she made it back home safely, sir."

Hogan nodded with relief.

Just then Newkirk walked into the main tunnel area. He'd been working on the uniforms they had stashed in a small room off one of the side tunnels. He looked at Hogan curiously and held up his hand, "Look what I found, gov'nor."

Sitting in the palm of his hand was a small, furry round creature. It was obviously alive, because it was shifting slightly in Newkirk's hand and emitting a soft, cooing noise.

Hogan walked up and looked at the creature, his brow furrowing. "What is that thing?" he asked warily.

"I don't know, sir, I found it when I was cleanin' out the SS uniform you wore to the lab. It was hidin' in one of the pockets."

"Hey, you don't think that thing's dangerous, do you?" Kinch piped up, concerned.

"Doesn't seem to be," Newkirk answered.

Hogan tentatively reached out and petted it lightly. The creature cooed louder and began to move across Newkirk's hand, towards the colonel. Hogan smiled. "He does seem to be pretty friendly, doesn't he?" he remarked.

Newkirk nodded. "Yes, sir, he does."

Hogan dropped his hand and looked up at Newkirk. "Well, it's time to hit the sack…" He paused when he saw Newkirk's expression, and glanced again at the furry ball in the Englishman's hand. "No sense leaving the poor thing down here. I think it'll be all right up in the barracks for tonight."

Newkirk smiled. "I was hopin' you'd say that, gov'nor."

Hogan looked over at his radioman. "Come on, Kinch; you, too. I think you could use a good night's sleep."

Kinch nodded. "You're right about that, Colonel."

The three men headed up to the barracks; Newkirk being careful not to drop the furry creature in his hand. He headed for his bunk; and after setting the creature next to his pillow, hopped up and lay down next to it. Kinch climbed into his own bunk, and Hogan disappeared into his quarters.

* * *

The next morning, LeBeau got up early and grabbed the pot off the stove to start the coffee. As he walked by Carter and Newkirk's bunks, he heard a strange noise coming from the upper one, where Newkirk slept, and moved closer, squinting in the darkened barracks. He saw what he thought was Newkirk's hair sticking out from under his blanket, and reached up to tap the corporal on the head to wake him up. But when he touched the hair, it moved all by itself, and let out a small, startled screech. LeBeau pulled his hand away like it was on fire, and jumped back. "Newkirk! There's a wild animal on your bunk!" he shouted.

Newkirk startled awake, as did most of the barracks. LeBeau ran over and turned on the lights, eliciting a collective groan from the men. Newkirk sat up and looked at LeBeau; a mixture of confusion and irritation on his face. "Louis, 'ave you gone daft? What's the matter with you?"

LeBeau pointed to the three furry balls next to Newkirk's pillow. "Those!" he exclaimed, "What are those?"

Newkirk looked where LeBeau was pointing, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Well, what do you know? Looks like 'he' was really a 'she', doesn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" LeBeau replied, utterly confused.

By now Carter had gotten up from his bunk and was peering over the top of Newkirk's. When he saw the creatures, his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "Oh, what are those? Can I hold one?" He reached up to pet the closest one, and it cooed loudly.

Just then the door to Hogan's quarters opened, and the colonel walked out, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "What's going on out here?" he demanded irritably.

"Colonel, that thing I found last night…it 'ad babies," Newkirk replied from his bunk.

"What?" Hogan frowned and stepped over to Newkirk's bunk. Sure enough, there were three of the furry creatures resting next to Newkirk's pillow. His eyebrows shot up and he said, "Well, that was fast!"

Carter picked up the one he'd been petting and cradled it in his hands. He lifted it up level with his face and began cooing back at it.

"Hey Carter," Kinch called out from his bunk farther back in the room, "You know a lot about animals. What is that thing?"

"I don't know…I've never seen anything like it before," Carter replied, still making reassuring faces at the creature in his hands.

"Well we'd best call 'em somethin', 'adn't we?" Newkirk stared down at the other two small furry bodies on his bunk. "'Ow about…fuzzies?"

Kinch raised his eyebrow. "Fuzzies?" he repeated, looking at Newkirk with amusement.

"Well, what would you call 'em, then?" Newkirk replied defensively.

"Hair balls!" Someone shouted.

"What?" Newkirk cried out indignantly, "I'm not callin' 'em somethin' that comes out of a cat's –"

"Fuzzies is fine," Hogan intervened loudly.

"Can I keep this one, Newkirk?" Carter looked up at him imploringly.

Newkirk shrugged. "I guess so, Carter. They don't seem to need their mum anymore, do they?"

LeBeau reached up and tentatively touched one of the remaining two on Newkirk's bunk. It cooed at him, and he smiled. He picked it up and began petting it. "It's very soft," he remarked.

Newkirk picked up the last one, which happened to be the one he'd found in the first place. "Well, I'm keepin' this one," he announced. "I think I'll name it, Freddy."

"That's not a girl's name," LeBeau teased.

"It can be," Newkirk retorted, "'Sides, I just like that name."

"Still miss that chimp, don't you?" Kinch said, smiling slightly.

"And why not? Freddy was much better company than you lot!"

Everyone groaned. Then LeBeau asked, "How are we going to take care of them? We don't even know what they eat!"

Carter rolled the fuzzy gently over in his hand. "I can't even find its mouth!" he exclaimed.

Kinch got up and walked over. "They don't strike me as carnivores. Why don't you try tearing up some bread and see if they'll eat that?"

"Hey, that's a great idea!" LeBeau said. He stepped over to his locker and opened it, pulling out a few pieces of stale bread. Setting the fuzzy down on the table, he tore up the slices into tiny pieces and scattered them near the creature. The fuzzy wobbled over to the bread crumbs and began to eat.

"Looks like they eat bread," Hogan remarked.

Carter brought his fuzzy over to the table and set it down. It, too, began to munch on the bread crumbs. Then Newkirk jumped down from his bunk and put Freddy on the table so she could eat, as well. Soon the crumbs had disappeared, and the fuzzies were cooing contentedly.

Just then the barracks door burst open, and Schultz came barreling through. "Roll call! Raus! Raus! Everybody up!"

"We're already up, Schultz," Carter stated.

Schultz opened his mouth to yell some more, when he glanced around the room and frowned. "Oh, you _are_ all up, I see. Well, then, you can all go outside and line up!" His gaze fell on the table, and his eyes widened with surprise. "Colonel Hogan, what are those things?" he asked, pointing to the fuzzies.

"They're our pets, Schultz," Hogan replied.

Schultz shook his head vigorously. "Colonel Hogan, you know you are not allowed pets in the barracks! I will have to tell the Kommandant…" His voice trailed off as Hogan picked up Freddy and set her in Schultz's hand.

"Aw, c'mon, Schultz, look how cute they are! You can't let Colonel Klink take them away," he pleaded.

Schultz stared at the strange furry creature in his hand. He lifted it up to get a better look, and it started cooing at him. He reached up with his other hand and, petting it gently, asked, "What is it?"

"It's a fuzzy," Newkirk replied.

"A fuzzy what?"

"No, Schultz, that's what they're called," Carter explained, "Fuzzies."

"Fuzzies," Schultz repeated absently; then Freddy started to move in his hand and he chuckled. "It tickles!"

Newkirk reached over and snatched Freddy out of the German guard's hand. "'Ere now, Schultzie, you've 'ad her long enough." He held her in his own hand and began to pet her.

Schultz heaved a sigh. "All right, Colonel Hogan, I won't tell the Kommandant. But you have to promise me you'll keep those fuzzy things hidden!"

Hogan smiled and clapped the big man reassuringly on shoulder. "I promise, Schultz; Klink will never know they're here."

Schultz frowned and shook his head slightly. Then he looked around the room and hollered, "Everybody outside for Roll call!"

The men scrambled outside. Just before they left the barracks, Newkirk, Carter and LeBeau quickly set their fuzzies up next to Newkirk's pillow and followed the rest of the men out.

* * *

They stood outside at roll call for over an hour, waiting for Klink to grace them with his presence. When he finally did, it was just long enough to dismiss them. As they filtered back into the barracks, Newkirk, Carter and LeBeau made a beeline for Newkirk's bunk. Their eyes popped wide when they looked at the spot where they'd left the fuzzies – there were eight of them now!

"Colonel, look," Newkirk said, glancing over at Hogan and pointing to his bunk.

Hogan walked over and frowned. "There's eight now? Where did those extra ones come from?"

Newkirk shrugged. "Guess Freddy wasn't finished."

"Well, I hope she's done now. I don't think we can afford to have many more of those things around…someone besides Schultz is bound to notice."

"Yes, sir," Newkirk replied.

"Colonel, where should we put them?" Carter asked, grabbing a few of the new fuzzies, along with the one he'd claimed before.

Hogan thought for a moment. "They should be all right in the tunnel. That's where Newkirk found Freddy."

"You found Freddy in the tunnel?" LeBeau asked, surprised.

Newkirk shook his head. "Not exactly, Louis, I found her in the colonel's jacket; the one he wore to the lab."

LeBeau nodded thoughtfully, but didn't comment.

Newkirk, Carter, LeBeau and Kinch scooped up the fuzzies and took them down to the tunnel. They decided to put them in the room with the uniforms, thinking they'd be safer and warmer in there. Newkirk grabbed some scrap material and made a nice little nest for them. Then LeBeau set down a plate full of bread crumbs, and the men left.

After they got up to the barracks, they found out they'd been 'volunteered' for a working party. They were out most of the day, and when they finally returned, they hurried down to the tunnel to check on their tiny charges. When they reached the room where they'd left them, their jaws dropped…the floor was completely covered with fuzzies!

Carter was the first to speak up. "What happened?"

"There must be at least a hundred of those things!" Kinch exclaimed.

"Someone better tell the colonel," LeBeau said, and looked at Newkirk.

Newkirk's eyebrows shot up. "Why me?"

"Because you're the one who found Freddy," LeBeau rationalized.

"Now wait just a bleedin' minute! Freddy didn't do all this!"

"No, but she started it!" LeBeau shouted.

"Started what?" Hogan asked as he walked up behind them. He looked past them into the room, and his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "What on Earth…?"

"They seem to breed very quickly, sir," Kinch commented.

"We can't keep all these!" Hogan exclaimed, "You fellas are gonna have to get rid of them."

"But, Colonel…" Carter started to protest.

"No 'buts', Carter; this is ridiculous!"

"Mon Colonel, where can we take them?" LeBeau asked.

"How about out the emergency exit?" suggested Hogan.

"Blimey, Colonel, we can't just toss 'em out into the woods!" Newkirk exclaimed, aghast at the thought.

Hogan sighed and stared at the fuzzies thoughtfully for a few moments. "Maybe we should let Klink know about them after all," he muttered.

"What?" LeBeau cried out. "Colonel, he'd probably send them to the mess hall and tell the cooks to serve them for dinner!"

Kinch shook his head. "No, Louis, Klink wouldn't do that. Schultz, maybe, but Klink –"

"Oh, c'mon, fellas," Hogan interrupted, "Klink's a lot more soft-hearted than you give him credit for."

LeBeau looked at Hogan and raised his eyebrow. "He is, sir?"

"Sure! Why, when I tell him how much women just love furry little animals, he'll be begging for us to put them in his quarters."

The men nodded, breaking out in smiles. Then Newkirk asked, "But, we still get to keep ours; right, sir?"

Hogan grinned. "Yes, Newkirk," he replied, clapping him on the shoulder.

* * *

Kinch went to get a couple of boxes, while Newkirk picked up Freddy and put her in his pocket. LeBeau and Carter followed suit; both men picking up the fuzzies they'd adopted – at least, they were pretty sure they were the same ones – and put them in their pockets, as well. After Kinch returned, the men filled each box with fuzzies and brought them up to the barracks. They set the boxes down on the floor near Newkirk and Carter's bunks; then went to Hogan's quarters to tell him they were ready.

While they were gone, several of the other men in the barracks walked over and picked out a few fuzzies from one of the boxes. They, too, wanted pets.

A few minutes later Hogan emerged from his quarters; his four men following right behind him. Hogan directed them to pick up the boxes and follow him to Klink's office. When they got there, Hogan rapped twice on the door; then barged in without waiting for a response. Klink looked up irritably from his desk and said, "What do you want, Hogan? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"We brought you a present, sir," Hogan informed him; then he waved his men into the office and had them set the boxes down right on top of Klink's desk.

Klink shot up from his seat. "Hogan, what is the meaning of this?" he shouted.

"You might want to keep your voice down, Colonel," Hogan said, "You don't want to scare them."

"Scare who?" Klink asked. He looked into one of the boxes and his eyes grew wide. "What…what are those?" he stammered.

"We call 'em fuzzies, sir," Newkirk piped up. "We found 'em while we were out on the workin' party today. We thought you'd be willin' to give 'em a good 'ome."

"What?" Klink looked up in bewilderment, "Why would I want these, these…creatures? I don't even know what they are!"

"Aw, c'mon, sir," Hogan implored, "They're so small and defenseless…"

"I don't care!" Klink huffed.

"…And besides, you know how women love small, cute, furry animals…"

Klink raised his eyebrow. "They do?"

"Sure they do!" Hogan exclaimed. "Look, I'll prove it." He walked over to the doorway and asked Hilda to come into the office. As she stepped inside, he grabbed one of the fuzzies and held it out to her. Her face lit up as she took it from him and began to pet it.

"Oh, it's adorable!" Hilda said, smiling at the fuzzy. Then she looked up at Hogan questioningly "Colonel Hogan, what is it?"

"It's a fuzzy," Hogan answered.

"A fuzzy…" Hilda repeated, gazing at the furry ball in her hand. She looked up at Klink and asked sweetly, "May I keep this one, Kommandant?"

"Yes, of course, my dear," Klink replied, smiling at her; then he turned to his senior POW. "All right, Hogan, they can stay. You can put them in my quarters for now."

Hogan smiled. "Yes, sir, thank you, sir." He nodded at his men, who picked up the boxes and headed for Klink's quarters. Hogan followed them out, flashing a wink at Hilda as he passed her.

When they reached Klink's quarters, they set the boxes down in the guest room, and carefully removed the fuzzies; piling them on the large double bed. Then LeBeau slipped into the kitchen and returned with some bread. Once they'd torn up a sufficient amount, they left the crumbs for the small creatures and headed back to their barracks.

Soon enough it was time for lights out, and the men settled in to get some sleep. More than half of them had snagged a fuzzy earlier, which they now had hidden near a corner of each of their bunks, underneath their blankets. Everyone was tired, so it didn't take long before the room was filled with the sound of snoring men.

* * *

The next morning, LeBeau woke at his usual time and, after yawning and stretching, swung his legs over the side of the bunk and jumped down. He was immediately met by a loud screech, and realized one of his feet had landed on a fuzzy. He quickly picked up his foot and started to set it down in a different spot, but stopped when he saw another fuzzy there. As he felt himself starting to lose his balance, he pushed the fuzzy out of the way with his foot, and stepped down. Then he glanced around the barracks and his jaw dropped – the floor, the table, and many of the bunks were covered with them.

"Mon Dieu!" LeBeau exclaimed, inadvertently waking the entire barracks.

The men started grumbling, and Newkirk called out irritably, "What is it now, Louis?"

"The fuzzies – they're everywhere!" LeBeau shouted.

"What?" Newkirk replied as he began to sit up. Then he looked at his bunk; his eyes widening at the dozens of small furry bodies covering it.

Just then they all heard a tiny shriek come from Hogan's quarters, followed loudly by, "What the…?" A moment later the door opened, and the colonel stepped carefully into the main barracks. As the light from his small room spilled out into the larger one, he glanced around with surprise; then yelled, "Where did all these fuzzies come from? And how did they get in my quarters?"

"I don't know, Colonel," LeBeau answered, "But they're everywhere!"

"Well, you guys better get them cleaned up before Schultz – " Hogan was cut off by the barrack's door opening and the main light being turned on.

"Colonel Hogan!" Schultz yelled, "The Kommandant wants to… Oh!" He exclaimed, moving quickly to avoid stepping on a pile of fuzzies. His eyes widened as he looked around the barracks, his gaze coming to rest on Hogan. "Colonel Hogan! What are you doing with all these, these furries?"

"They're fuzzies, Schultz," Newkirk interjected from his upper bunk.

"Fuzzies, furries, I don't care what they're called!" Schultz shouted, "You can't have this many in the barracks!"

"We know, Schultz," Hogan said, "And we'll get rid of them as soon as possible, okay?"

Schultz stared at him thoughtfully for a moment. "All right, Colonel Hogan. In the meantime, the big shot wants to see you in his office right away."

"What for?"

Schultz shrugged. "He didn't tell me."

Hogan nodded. "All right," he replied. He followed Schultz out of the barracks and across the compound to the Kommandantur. When they entered the outer office, both men's eyes grew wide; the fuzzies were everywhere! On the floor, on the desks, sticking out of the filing cabinets – there were even some clinging to the walls. As Hogan stepped into the inner office, he met a similar scene; with the exception of Klink standing near his desk, an angry expression on his face.

"Hogan, look at this! I thought you said these things were harmless!"

"They are, sir," Hogan replied, "They wouldn't harm a hair on your head…"

"No, but they might bury it," Klink huffed. "My quarters, my office; they've been overrun! And General Burkhalter is due here any minute!'

"I hope he likes animals," Hogan quipped.

"Hogan!" Klink shouted, raising his hand and waggling his finger at the American colonel, "You will get rid of these things immediately!"

"Why me, sir?"

"Because, you brought them here!"

Hogan glanced around the room. "Well, technically, my men are the ones who found them – "

"I don't care who gets rid of them! I…" Klink was interrupted by the door opening, and a very annoyed-looking General Burkhalter entering the office.

"Klink! What is the meaning of this?" Burkhalter shouted.

"General Burkhalter!" Klink exclaimed nervously, "I can explain – "

"What are these things?" Burkhalter cut in, picking up a fuzzy from Klink's desk and examining it closely.

"They're fuzzies, General," Hogan piped up. "My men found them yesterday while they were out on a working party."

"And you brought them all back here?" Burkhalter asked, incredulously.

"There weren't this many yesterday," Hogan said, "They seem to breed very quickly."

"I see," Burkhalter replied, absently petting the fuzzy in his hand. Suddenly he realized what he was doing, and quickly set the creature back on the desk. "Klink, it's time for our meeting before I head for Berlin…" He glanced around the office and frowned. "Obviously, we can't have it here. Fortunately, I have a room in town we can use. In the meantime, I suggest you have someone clean up this place while we're gone." He turned and headed out of the office, followed by Klink and Hogan. Schultz – who had been lurking in the outer room, trying to stay out of the way – joined the exiting men.

When they got outside, they noticed two large trucks parked in the compound, in addition to Burkhalter's staff car. Burkhalter turned to Klink and said, "I am leaving these supply trucks here until we return. Make sure no one removes anything from them; they are carrying special items for the Fuhrer, himself."

Klink turned to his German sergeant. "Schultz, guard those trucks while we're gone!" he ordered brusquely.

"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant!" Schultz replied, giving Klink a salute; then he hurried away.

Klink then noticed his senior POW still standing there. "Well, Hogan, what are you waiting for? You're in charge of getting rid of those fuzzies!"

"I'll take care of it, Kommandant," Hogan responded, saluting Klink; then he, too, hurried away, in the direction of the barracks. When he got inside, he was met by several anxious faces. "I take it you heard," he said to his men; sure they had listened in to the conversation in Klink's office.

"Yes, sir," answered Newkirk, who was clutching Freddy in his hands. He looked imploringly at Hogan. "Colonel, do we 'ave to get rid of _all_ of them?"

Hogan clapped the Englishman on the shoulder. "I'm afraid so," he replied sympathetically, "But I think we can find them a good home."

"Where, Colonel?" Carter asked.

Hogan smiled. "Give me some of your chocolate bars, fellas …I've got an idea."

* * *

Several hours later Burkhalter's staff car rolled into camp and stopped in front of the Kommandantur. Klink got out and, after a few final words with the general, stepped back and watched as the car pulled away and headed out the gate. The supply trucks followed, and as soon as they were out of sight, Klink waved Schultz over and told him to have the prisoners line up for roll call. Then he climbed up the steps and disappeared into his office.

Schultz dutifully obeyed, and soon the men from the barracks were standing in rows outside their building. Klink came out of his office and strode across the compound. After Schultz informed him that all the prisoners were accounted for, he went to stand in front of Hogan.

"I'm glad to see all the fuzzies are gone," Klink stated.

"I told you I'd take care of it, sir," Hogan replied.

Klink eyed him suspiciously. "So tell me, Hogan, how did you get rid of them so quickly?"

Hogan reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "It's funny you should ask…"

Klink's eyes narrowed. "Hogan, what did you do?"

"Well, sir, you remember those supply trucks?"

Klink's eyes popped wide. "Hogan, you didn't…!"

"Relax, Colonel," Hogan replied, "I'm sure they'll figure out what to do with them in Berlin."

Klink frowned. "For your information, those trucks aren't going to Berlin, they're going to Berchtesgaden."

Hogan's eyebrows rose. "They are?"

Klink nodded.

Hogan thought for a moment. Then he said, "Well, look at it this way, Colonel, you've probably made the Adolph Hitler Division very happy." (1)

Confusion flashed across Klink's face. "And what makes you say that, Hogan?"

Hogan smiled. "Why, you've just found a whole new way to beautify Berchtesgaden!"

The end…

* * *

(1)_ Hogan's Hofbrau_, season one.


End file.
